Complex
by Understandable Enigma
Summary: AU. Shinobi is a term used to describe the exceedingly rare, endangered hybrids. The hybrids have been hunted nearly to extinction. They face poachers, enemy shinobi, and more...Pairings: NaruHina NejiTen InoShikaTem GaaraOC...Summary sucks, just read.
1. Trespasser

**Complex**

**Multi-chaptered**

**By Understandable Enigma**

**Summary: AU. "Shinobi" is a term used to describe the exceedingly rare, endangered hybrids. The hybrids have been hunted nearly to extinction, so much so that they must hide among humans. They face poachers, enemy shinobi, and more...Pairings: NaruHina NejiTen InoShikaTem GaaraOC **

Chapter 1: Trespasser

The high school was crowded, loud, and smelled terrible. The food was disgusting and the people in it were even worse. There wasn't a single thing Naruto would like more than to never go there ever again, but that would blow his cover. So he continues to go to this godforsaken dump each weekday, from 8:00am until 2:30pm. The only thing that made this miserable existence worthwhile were his friends: Naruto had a small, select group of friends. He had to be exceedingly cautious when selecting his friends because of his position...it would not do for anyone to dredge up any of the skeletons in his closet, so he chose to associate with people who had similar skeletons. Birds of a feather flock together, after all.

This is why Naruto dragged himself out of bed on the Monday morning that this tale begins. He slammed a fist down on the irritatingly high pitched blaring of the infernal alarm clock before stumbling sleepily into the shower. When he was clean and dressed, he ate a meager breakfast of an apple before bidding farewell to his foster mother and sister, and leaving for the damned high school with his foster brother, Kiba. See, Naruto was orphaned at an early age, and Kiba's family had taken him in most graciously.

The two loud boys trudged on towards the school, mumbling, grumbling and complaining the whole way. Things like, "I hate Mondays," and "Why in God's name do we have to be there so early?" were heard for several blocks as they finally came in view of the school. They quickly spotted their friends and sat together with them underneath the huge willow until school started. As usual, Naruto and Kiba were the last two of the group to make it to school, but then they were the ones with the least reason to come to school.

"You idiots should really get here sooner," scolded a blonde girl with eccentric horsetails. "What if there was something important going on and you two got here too late to hear about it?"

"Nothing important happens around here, Tem," Kiba said wistfully. "Don't get my hopes up." Kiba sat on the ground gloomily and began drawing in the dirt with a stick.

"Anyway, _did_ anything important happen?" asked Naruto skeptically. "Because if there wasn't anything important, you have no reason to yell at us, Temari." He lay down in the grass and stared at the swaying, frail branches of the tree.

"As a matter of fact, baka, something important DID happen," snapped Temari.

Naruto and Kiba both perked up, their interest piqued. "What?" asked the loud blonde.

"New kid," came a bored voice from a branch high above their heads.

Naruto looked up at the redhead, annoyed and disappointed. "That's it?" he asked incredulously. "A new kid is the important happening?"

"Hn," Gaara's voice was painfully bored.

"It's not a normal new kid," Sasuke's cold voice clarified. "She smells odd."

Kiba was once again interested. "Odd? Odd how?"

Sasuke shrugged and yawned, closing his eyes. This, of course, pissed Naruto off.

"Stop acting all smooth, annoying bastard!!!" the blond shouted.

Said annoying bastard cracked one eye and said calmly, "I'm not acting, dobe."

"GAAAHH!" Naruto screamed, tugging on his hair. "Go get stuck in a tree, scaredy-cat!"

This struck a nerve with the calm boy. "Say that again, dumb fox, I dare you," Sasuke growled venomously.

"G-guys, c-c-come on, s-stop fighting, pl-pl-ease?" stuttered a skittish Hinata, not wanting this to turn violent, as it so often did.

Naruto's eyes narrowed at the pale-eyed girl. She embarrassedly averted her eyes as he neared her. He said gently, "Where's that stutter coming from?" He ran a hand through her hair soothingly, saying, "I thought we got rid of it. What happened? It was your father, wasn't it?" It wasn't so much of a question than a statement. Hinata remained silent, so Naruto sighed and swept her up into a protective hug, cooing to her in her ear.

Kiba rolled his eyes at the (in his mind) sickeningly sweet display of affection and asked, "So where is this odd-smelling new girl?"

Sasuke shrugged, once again calm, if a little irritated on the inside. "She went into the building a while ago, she's probably getting a tour of the school and getting her schedule and bull like that. You know, typical first day of school stuff," Sasuke closed his eyes once more.

Kiba sighed. He'd wanted a chance to smell the new girl...oh well, he'd smell her before the day was over.

The bell rang, and the fifteen friends dragged themselves up and meandered towards the school, gloom settling down upon them as they looked forward to another day of monotony and disgust.

Naruto and Hinata had their first class together, so they walked together, hand-in-hand, Naruto still attempting to find out what had happened to her over the weekend. He sighed, figuring he'd find out from Neji later...come to think of it, Neji had been uncharacteristically quite that morning, too. He and Tenten hadn't been fighting or anything...That was a sure sign that something was wrong: the couple ALWAYS had _something_ to butt heads about. Naruto became increasingly concerned as he entered his History class and took a seat in the back. He was so lost in thought that he didn't notice the person at the front of the class until Hinata nudged him and gestured toward said person.

As soon as Naruto saw her, he knew that she was the new kid that they'd been discussing this morning. She had long, reddish-brown hair that was so straight it looked like it was flattened under a steam roller. Her eyes blue, but not like Naruto's own—they were much lighter, almost gray, and outlined in black eyeliner. She wore a black hooded jacket, and jeans with red paint splattered all over it. However, none of that was what interested Naruto. He was most intrigued by her scent. She didn't smell like his friends, but she definitely didn't smell normal.

The teacher called the class to attention. "Everyone, we have a new student joining us today," he announced. Naruto had noticed that this particular teacher reveled in stating the obvious. He turned to the girl and said, "Why don't you tell the class your name and a bit about yourself?"

The girl looked bored, and annoyed at being made the center of attention. "Your name and a bit about yourself," she announced sarcastically. This earned a couple chuckles from the class and a reprimanding look from the teacher. The girl rolled her eyes and said, "My name is Kira. I don't enjoy talking about myself. I'm antisocial and don't get along with anyone, and this is probably the most you'll ever hear me say at once." She smiled brightly and took a seat in the back next to Hinata, in the corner and proceeded to stare out the window for the remainder of the class.

The teacher was, needless to say, irritated at Kira's insolent remarks. However, he proceeded to begin his lesson. "Well class, today is a very exciting day," he began, "because we're going to begin our study of the history of the Hybrids, better known as Shinobi." The class broke out into whispers and small conversations, while Naruto and Hinata looked at each other grimly…If they were studying Shinobi, it was from human perspective, and humans knew nothing about their kind.

In case you hadn't already figured it out, Naruto and all his friends were shinobi. If it were back in the old days, the glory days, they wouldn't have to hide amongst these human scumbags…They'd be living it large amidst their own people. But, the old days were gone, and this was how they now had to live. It was a shame, really.

"Now," the teacher began, regaining his students' attention, "the first thing you have to realize about hybrids is that they aren't as intelligent as humans. They are ruled by their primal instinct due to their animal blood, and as such they are monsters who cannot control their actions. Now that you understand all that, let's begin with the battles…"

Naruto was furiously grinding his teeth and clenching and unclenching his fists under his desk, doing everything in his power to keep his rage in check and not let the others in the class know that anything was out of place. Hinata was trying to soothe him, inconspicuously stroking his arm calmingly and whispering so low only he could hear her. The class dragged on, and Naruto and Hinata had to sit through each agonizingly inaccurate description of their ancestors. When class finally ended, they hurried out of the class and into the hall where Naruto promptly calmed his nerves by punching a locker.

"Whoa, what's eating you?" came a voice from behind him. Naruto turned to see Ino, clinging to an annoyed-looking Shikamaru. Naruto sighed and rubbed his eyes.

"You guys headed to History?" he asked tiredly. When they nodded he sighed and said, "Today we started Shinobi studies…"

Shikamaru winced and Ino bit her lip. Naruto growled and cracked his knuckles as he remembered the lesson, causing his friends to try and distract him with nonsensical chatter such as parties and who was going out with who and whatnot. When that didn't work, Shika sighed and asked, "That bad?"

Naruto nodded. Then he sighed and said, "I'd better head off to my next class…see you, Ino, Shikamaru." He turned to Hinata and pecked her on the cheek. "See you, Hinata-chan." With that he headed off to his next class.

The rest of the school day passed without much incident, and the group met once more underneath the willow once school was over. The main thing that they discussed was the insanely disgusting crap from their History class, except of course for Neji, Tenten, Lee, Kankuro and Temari, all of whom had already taken the class in previous years. They were keeping their voices down so they wouldn't be overheard, but still they were all seething with rage. They were ranting and snarling, and the new girl was completely knocked from their minds until they spotted her once more.

Actually, it was Gaara who'd spotted her as she was leaving the school. "Guys," he'd called his friends' attention. "Look." Their eyes all followed Gaara's pointing finger and they saw a man greeting Kira. They recognized him as Iruka, the man who ran one of the local foster homes.

"So, she's a foster kid, eh?" said Kankuro. "Well, that's nothing new." This was true: Sasuke, Temari, Gaara, Kankuro, Lee and Tenten were all foster children in addition to Naruto. In the recent war between humans and hybrids, the one in which the hybrids had finally surrendered and gone into hiding, many children had been orphaned and now there was an average of 3 foster houses or orphanages per town. It was one of the most destructive battles in history, so it wasn't unusual that the new girl was a foster child.

However, after Kira got into the car, they noticed something strange: as they were driving away, Kira leaned her head slightly out the window. That was the tell-tale sign of a …canine?

That's when it hit Kiba. "I recognize it now!" he shouted victoriously. When he got questioning looks from his companions, he explained, "Her scent, I recognize it! It's _wolf_."

**A/N: This was a random story idea that I got, and I told my friend and she absolutely craved it and threatened me with bodily harm if I did not write it. I don't care if you don't like the pairings: get over it. My story, my pairings, so XP. **

**However, I would like feedback. The InoShikaTem triangle is something I've always wanted to write, but I don't know who will win…Who do you think should get Shika-kun? Ino, Temari, ooooorrr…maybe a twist?**

**Reviews get cookies, constructive criticism is acknowledged then most likely ignored, and flames are kept in a jar until the next time I go camping, then added to my bonfire.**


	2. Approach

**Complex**

**Multi-chaptered**

**By Understandable Enigma**

**Summary: AU. "Shinobi" is a term used to describe the exceedingly rare, endangered hybrids. The hybrids have been hunted nearly to extinction, so much so that they must hide among humans. They face poachers, enemy shinobi, and more...Pairings: NaruHina NejiTen InoShikaTem GaaraOC**

**THANK YOU MY LOVELIES FOR THE REVIEWS! Thanks especially to Kina Lupi, who kindly gave me her input on my InoShikaTem triangle. The votes are as follows:**

**Temari: 1**

**Ino: 0**

**TWIST: 0**

**Uhm…vote please people. Please? I'LL GIVE YOU A LOLLIPOP!**

Chapter 2: Approach

"Wolf?" asked Naruto, confused. "You mean, like _us_?"

"Yeah, that's exactly what I mean," said Kiba with certainty. "Well, technically, not like us because none of us are wolf hybrids, but you get the idea."

"She's pretty hot," Kankuro remarked shamelessly. It was common knowledge that Kankuro regarded the opposite sex first by their appearance, then next by who they actually were. "The guys will be all over her, myself included." For his input, he was smacked upside the head thrice by the females in the vicinity. "OW! What was that for? Wait…I only got hit three times…where's Tenten?"

Looking around, the group realized that they were missing people. "Neji's gone too…" said Choji around a mouthful of potato chips. "Should we go look for them?"

"N-n-no, j-just leave them b-be…" Hinata's voice was timid and sad. "Th-they n-n-need to w-work this out alone." Hinata stared at the ground and was once again silent. This confirmed Naruto's suspicions that something drastic had occurred at the Hyuuga household over the weekend, but he was no closer to figuring out what. He decided to just hold his woman and listen to the others.

"So what're we going to do?" asked Gaara monotonously.

"What do you mean?" asked Ino as she took it upon herself to groom Shikamaru's horsetail. "What are we going to do about what?"

Gaara sighed in annoyance; stupid people would be the death of him. "What are we going to do about Kira?" Gaara's face was expressionless as the others exchanged looks. "What?" he asked mildly.

"Since when are you on first-name terms with Kira?" asked Naruto suggestively. He always teased the quiet, introverted Gaara, being that he couldn't understand anyone ever wanting not to be noticed.

Gaara rolled his eyes at the ludicrous insinuation. "Art class," he said dully. The teacher in his advanced art class had instructed Kira to sit next to him, something that raised many whispered comments among the other students in the class. They were imbeciles…Ooh, scary Gaara, hope he doesn't eat the new girl…Idiots. Gaara himself hadn't been upset nor pleased by the new addition…On one hand, he really didn't give a damn what anyone around him did, just as long as they left him alone. Then again on the other hand, he didn't appreciate that the girl sat next to _him_, invading his space and possibly corrupting his creative flow. There was nothing, _nothing_ worse than having inspiration strike you one second, and the next have it shatter to nothingness because the person next to you distracted you. It didn't, however, seem to be that Kira would distract him at all; she was very quiet and introverted, much like himself, and she only spoke when absolutely necessary. She was someone that Gaara wouldn't mind at all.

Naruto's face fell at Gaara's explanation, then contorted into one of concentration, as if attempting to remember something. "Wait a minute…" he said suspiciously. "Aren't you in that advanced art class for people who are really good at like, art and stuff?" Naruto's eloquence continued to amaze everyone.

"Hn," Gaara replied distantly. He was thinking about that drawing he'd started today in class…

"Anyway, Gaara brings up a valid point," Shika said tiredly. He opened one eye and surveyed his friends. "What _are_ we going to do about her?"

"We're going to be friends with her…duh," Naruto said like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "What else would we do?"

"The thing is, can she be trusted?" inquired the ever-stoic Sasuke. "Will she be able to keep her mouth shut about…things?"

Naruto shrugged unconcernedly. "We'll just have to get to know her in order to find out, now won't we?"

"Mm-hmm…" Kiba said, exhausted. He stretched and yawned, then pushed himself up off the ground and grabbed his bag. "Naruto, we should get going."

"All right," the blonde said brightly, and he proceeded to bid farewell to each person, taking care to give Hinata an extra special good-bye.

Ino watched the pair leave, then asked Shikamaru, "Hey, you want to go to the mall with me?" She batted her long blonde eyelashes and pouted pleadingly. Shikamaru sighed.

"Sorry, I can't…"

"Why can't you?"

"I'm supposed to help Temari study tonight," he explained. "We have a Calculus test tomorrow, and she needs my help…Troublesome…"

"Well, if that's your attitude we should get going," Temari said, grinning. "Think of it this way: the sooner we start studying, the sooner I'll leave you alone." Shikamaru groaned, but nevertheless got up and followed Temari to her car, raising a hand in farewell as he walked away.

Ino sighed, dejected, and Sakura instantly picked up on her distress. "Hey," she called to her friend, "you and I are going to go to the mall together, and we're going to get some new shoes. Got it?" Ino smiled and nodded, glad for her friend's support, and they both headed towards Ino's house.

Because everyone else was leaving, Sasuke got up and left without a word. Kankuro said goodbye to everyone and left as well, and Lee left, jovially running in the direction his house was, which happened to be a long, steep jog uphill. Neji returned and escorted Hinata home, while Tenten just stalked off, brooding. Shino nodded to Gaara and Chouji, the last two there, and Chouji sat with Gaara in companionable silence until his father came and picked him up. Gaara was, once again, alone. Perfect…just how he liked it.

He slung his bag over one shoulder and meandered off in a random direction, not really paying any attention to where his feet were carrying him. He was just thinking about his drawing that he'd started, and what he was going to do with it…

He'd started it from a spontaneous inspiration he'd got from looking at Kira. Her eyes were such a unique color of crystal blue, he'd been reminded of ice…He didn't dwell for a second on the fact that the girl had unknowingly inspired him; he often got randomly inspired for no reason, by things that looked ordinary that just sent a signal to his brain when he saw them. It had happened several times that his friends had inspired him before.

The image he'd received when looking into Kira's eyes was one of a girl, dressed in rags, reaching out, encased in a block of ice. The block of ice was partially buried in snow, on some old, forgotten mountaintop, the girl never again to be unfrozen. Gaara realized that this was a deeply depressing picture, but he never really paid any mind to the mood of his pictures. He drew or painted what he saw, and how it made him feel. He didn't base his drawings off of emotion like so many other artists did, he found it to be irrational, because the people who looked at the art weren't going to feel what the artist felt when he made it, they are going to feel the picture, and so Gaara made the pictures feel what he felt when he saw them in his mind's eye. He was a creature of logic, and nothing would break him of that…And that's what is logical to him.

He found that his feet had led him to the park. Interesting…he hadn't been to the park in ages. Maybe here he could find a nice, secluded spot to finish his drawing in peace. He remembered a nice, big old tree that had roots shaped just right for sitting in between, and thought that would be the perfect place, so for once that day his brain directed his feet towards said tree.

When he reached the tree, he found that the space he'd been wanting to be occupied. He was about to leave when, upon closer examination, that the occupant was none other than Kira. _How cliché_..., thought Gaara. He continued to stand there silently until Kira spoke.

"Hello, Gaara,"

"Hn,"

"…Are you going to stand there watching me like a stalker or are you going to be normal and sit?"

"Hn,"

Obviously at this time, "Hn," is the equivalent of, "Why thank you, I'd love to sit!"…Gaara sat on the root next to Kira and took out his drawing pad and continued with his piece. A few minutes of silent sketching passed, and Gaara looked over to see what Kira was doing…she was reading a book. It was poetry…interesting. Gaara hadn't pegged her as a poetry type of girl, but then that was probably why he hated people judging others: they were almost always wrong. Gaara returned to his own work and the two sat there for several hours in silence, until the sun began to set and light became too scarce for either of them to do their activity well.

Kira stood, brushed off the seat of her jeans and stretched. As she was doing so, she looked over at Gaara's work, and was silently surprised. "You're good," she said, and then walked off without another word. Gaara stared after her, and then back at his drawing. The corners of his mouth twitched ever so slightly: yeah, this girl was actually cool.

**A/N: So yeah, a little development, the story's moving slow the first few chapters, but you learn a bit about the OC and her interaction with the other characters, so yeah...**

**You know what to do! Review like crazy, of course, and sing my praises! LOL  
**


	3. Dispute

**Complex**

**Multi-chaptered**

**By Understandable Enigma**

**Summary: AU. "Shinobi" is a term used to describe the exceedingly rare, endangered hybrids. The hybrids have been hunted nearly to extinction, so much so that they must hide among humans. They face poachers, enemy shinobi, and more...Pairings: NaruHina NejiTen InoShikaTem GaaraOC**

**InoShikaTem triangle votes:**

**Tem: 3**

**Ino: 0**

**People are reading and not reviewing…that makes me emo. Please, I really want you to review, not because I want to have a lot of reviews, but because I want feedback. Thanks!**

** Chapter 3: Dispute**

While the others had been off doing whatever they'd been doing, Neji and Tenten were having a crisis. Now, Neji and Tenten weren't your normal, conventional couple…They were constantly bickering loudly, Neji had an almost perpetual handprint on his face, and to most it seemed as though they hated each other. However, those who really knew the two knew that most of their arguing was good natured, and their real fights were only because they cared about the other too much to bear to see anything less than perfection in the other's life. That's just they way that they were…they needed the person they loved to have perfection in their life.

Now, early that morning, Tenten had immediately sensed Neji's discomfort. The stoic boy was unreadable to anyone else, but to Tenten, who scrutinized him so meticulously, he was a completely open book. Neji could hide nothing from Tenten, a fact of which he was painfully aware. So when he arrived at school that morning, he didn't even attempt to hide his distress (well, any more than usual). She would pick it up no matter how much he tried to hide it, and then she'd be mad at him for trying to hide something from her. So, he settled for the only option left to a person when dealing with Tenten: tell the truth. Painful as it was, it was the only thing one could do and not fear for their well-being around Tenten.

So, that brings us to Neji leaning against the willow, some of their friends present and some not, with his eyes closed and one foot against the trunk of the tree. He was brooding, of course, but that didn't mean he missed the faint smell of lavender that announced Tenten's arrival.

"Hey, Nej," Tenten had said casually. In his distressed state, all Neji could reply was, "Hn." This, of course, was Tenten's red flag.

"Come on," Tenten said wisely, gently pulling (cough FORCEFULLY DRAGGING cough) Neji away from the tree so that they could have some privacy. They walked around to a completely opposite side of the school where there wasn't another soul in sight, and then finally they sat together on the dull, concrete stairs. Tenten waited patiently for Neji to start talking, while pulling his hair out of its horsetail and running her fingers through it in long, intimate strokes. Neji leaned back into the touch, not wanting his bad news to break this perfection. However, his dream was short-lived.

"So," asked Tenten calmly, "are you going to tell me what's wrong or do I have to beat it out of you?" Neji remained silent for a moment, contemplating his options…As always, he only had one; tell Tenten the truth.

"I'm leaving," he said quietly.

Tenten abruptly stopped finger-combing his hair, dumbfounded. For several moments, there was nothing but shocked a silence, when Neji had anticipated a hurricane of rage from his possessive other half. Then…

"_**WHAT??!?!?!!!??**_" Tenten screeched. Her cry echoed off of the trees and the building, and Neji winced, sure that many of the people in the vicinity were staring in their general direction. Tenten started to rant. "What the fuck??! Are you serious?! Jesus Christ, what in fuck's name are you talking about?!?"

"Tenten, calm down,"

"SCREW THAT! You give me this goddamn bullshit about you leaving? What in the hell are you talking about?! I want some fucking answers, damnit!!!"

"Tenten," Neji said forcefully, grabbing her shoulders. That, for the moment, calmed her down. Neji's eyes softened, and he drew Tenten into a tight embrace, as though if he didn't cling to her she'd fade away. "I'm leaving. Hiashi-sama is moving the whole family…we're going to some country in Europe," he whispered, clutching her sadly. "We leave at the end of the month,"

"_Why_?!" Tenten was incredulous. "What's wrong with here? Why can't you stay here?"

"Hiashi-sama wants to send Hinata to a special tutor so that she'll be able to take over his company once she graduates," Neji said miserably. "Hiashi-sama said it was quite convenient, seeing as how he needs to check on our European offices." Hyuuga Corp was a highly respected worldwide, and they manufactured and sold technological goods. The rumor was that they were going to surpass Sony. "Even though Hiashi-sama always said Hinata wasn't good enough, now he says that he's 'misjudged her, and seen an astounding turnabout in her behavior'…" Neji fell silent, and Tenten did nothing but hold him. Then, an idea hit her.

"Tell him no!" said Tenten. "You could stay here in one of the foster houses! You could stay, you could tell him no!"

Neji looked at her sadly. "I'm not going to."

Tenten pushed him away from her. "Why the fuck not?" Neji winced at the recurrence of her foul language…That meant that she was pissed. "You're not even going to _try_?"

"No, I'm not," Neji said in a small voice. In a bigger voice he said, "Fate has determined that this is what must be…There will be no convincing Hiashi-sama to not go."

Tenten got up and stormed off. She yelled over her shoulder, "Well, if you're not even going to _try_ to salvage your life and our relationship, you can STUFF IT!"

That afternoon Neji had attempted to talk to Tenten again, to reason with her, but she wouldn't hear it. She wouldn't change her opinion or ideals, not even if she was told to with threat of being trampled by an elephant…Neji was no better. There wasn't anything in the world that could convince him that he was wrong, not ever. The two being together when both were so stubborn was difficult on normal days, but today it was impossible. Their afternoon talk yielded the same result as their earlier one, so Neji resignedly got Hinata and the two went home.

Hinata sensed Neji's uneasiness when he was driving the two of them home, but she chose to speak to him anyway. "D-don't be m-m-mad at T-Tent-ten-chan…" she said in the small, stuttering voice she always had before Naruto had started dating her. "Sh-she just d-doesn't kn-know how to c-c-cope."

"Don't talk to me like I'm being unreasonable," he said tiredly. "What about you? You haven't even told Naruto yet." He glanced over at her briefly before turning back at the road, but it was enough to see the uncomfortable look in Hinata's posture. "_Are_ you going to tell him? You have to eventually; if you up and disappear at the end of the month then he's going to go ape-shit." Neji's use of one of the many colorful words he'd learned from Tenten showed just how stressed-out he was.

"I-I'm g-going to tell h-him…" Hinata said, almost defensively. However, she didn't actually defend herself properly, as the new Hinata might have, but she was once again the old Hinata, and she didn't even want to try.

She wasn't going to do anything about this either, and she was also going to let her father ruin her life. She couldn't do anything about it, anyway. Hiashi wouldn't listen to her. Neji felt that Hiashi wouldn't listen, either. This meant that the two of them could do nothing to prevent their imminent relocation to Europe. They were going, and there was nothing that they could do about it. It was with that miserable thought that the two proceeded to go home and lock themselves in their respective rooms, and not even leave for dinner. It was their small, measly rebellion against going to Europe, but it was the best they could do.

**A/N: This chapter is a little short, but it's where I felt I should end it. There's the NejiTen for you fans of it out there! Let me know how I portrayed Hinata, Neji, and Tenten…I haven't really written anything with them as major characters before. Thanks!**

**(And remember, vote on the InoShikaTem triangle, there's some ShikaTem in the next chapter!)**

** Remember, reviewers are much loved and glomped!!!  
**


	4. Cat Nap & Studying

**Complex**

**Multi-chaptered**

**By Understandable Enigma**

**Summary: AU. "Shinobi" is a term used to describe the exceedingly rare, endangered hybrids. The hybrids have been hunted nearly to extinction, so much so that they must hide among humans. They face poachers, enemy shinobi, and more...Pairings: NaruHina NejiTen InoShikaTem GaaraOC**

**InoShikaTem triangle votes:**

**Tem: 4**

**Ino: 0**

**Wow, you people are showing no love at all to Ino…I'm going to give it a couple more chapters before I close votes.**

**CHAPPIE 4!: Cat Nap & Studying  
**

Sasuke watched as the group began to dissipate, and decided that he'd just go home. He didn't really want to be around anyone today. He was in an antisocial mood, and felt that he should just be alone, lest he be an asshole to any of his friends…So, he just left the school.

Sasuke is not what you'd call a "happy" guy. Sure, he occasionally smirked, and there were two actual recorded chuckles, but Sasuke wasn't an overly cheerful person. He hadn't been ever since the massacre…But oh well, what were you going to do? He wasn't ridiculed for being, well, _emo_, mainly because he was overall well-liked because he was oh so smart and oh so sexy and blah, blah, blah. He didn't care what others thought. He dressed in a way that would have him classified as emo mainly because his brother hadn't, and anything that made him dissimilar to Itachi was welcome.

This is the reason why, on this bright, cloudless day full of sunshine, that Sasuke walked home in what would appear to be a depressed mood. However, he was just tired and bored, really. He trudged along the road towards the foster home he lived in, thinking about the day he'd had and whatnot. Sasuke was a quiet person, so there's not much to say…He just walked home.

Once he got to the humble house, he removed his shoes, and then he was greeted warmly by the person who ran his foster home, Iruka. He smiled and said, "Sasuke, glad you're home!" Sasuke just gave Iruka a nod, and proceeded to head towards his room, where he intended to lock himself up for the rest of the night, just like he always did. However, Iruka seemed to think that was a bad idea. Before Sasuke could open the door to his room, his "father" came over and blocked it. Sasuke looked at the man, one eyebrow raised silently in question. Iruka sighed.

"Aren't you even going to greet the new addition to our home?" he asked tiredly. When Sasuke just gave him an, "oh, please" look, he got slightly frustrated. "Sasuke, I know you're not the most social of creatures, but you could at least welcome Kira…everyone else welcomed you."

Sasuke had no intention of greeting Kira; it made no difference to him what the girl did. Yeah, they lived in the same house: so what? Kira was of no interest to Sasuke, and he communicated as such to Iruka via a cold glare. Iruka held firm with an intense gaze of his own, before relenting and letting the Uchiha have his way…again. Iruka sighed and pinched the bridge of his tan nose, just above the long, horizontal scar running across it.

"You know, Sasuke, your poor social skills will get you nowhere in life, and if you don't work on them now you won't get another chance later," the man said, walking away from his cold charge. Sasuke simply rolled his eyes and entered his room, locking the door behind him. He never listened to Iruka, as he was a lovey-dovey, touchy-feely kind of person…weirdo.

Finally, he was alone in his room. Ah, sanctuary…Sasuke was finally in a place where he could relax. His schoolbag slid off of his shoulder and he rolled said joint, trying to loosen the painfully tense muscles from having carried the heavy bag home. Then, as a snake shucking its used skin, he slipped out of his pathetic human guise with a sigh. Once in his true form, he stretched and sighed, regarding himself in the floor-length mirror on the wall. No matter how accustomed he was to it, he never could get over how much better he looked in his true form. His hair was longer, his muscles were longer and leaner, his ears were round and placed higher on his head, and his eyes were golden and had slit-pupils (1). A thick, shining, silken layer of black fur covered his ears, hands and feet (which weren't hands and feet anymore but paws), and the nails on his fingers and toes were morphed into retractable claws 3 inches long. He chose to keep his tail under the disguise, because human clothing didn't allow for such appendages, and it was simply more comfortable without it. Yes, as Sasuke gazed into the mirror, he couldn't help but think that his panther form was infinitely more desirable.

In his natural, lithe form Sasuke tensed the muscles in his legs with ease, and jumped, gracefully landing on his bed without a sound, bending his knees to effortlessly absorb the shock of impact. With the inhuman feline grace he hadn't needed to work to achieve, he curled up on the comfortable bed and decided to take a cat nap (2). As he began to drift off to sleep, he managed to think to himself that the humans at least got this one invention right…ah, the bed…

We find Shikamaru on his bed, with Temari sitting on the floor next to him. Really…studying is so troublesome. Why that annoying woman made him do it…sigh. He glanced over at Temari, seeing her attempting to be engrossed in her Calculus text book, when really he could tell that she was thinking about something else entirely. Jeez…If she wasn't going to study and she didn't need his help, why was she here? I mean, his dad never cared when he had company, but his troublesome mother had him keep the door open at all times, and she was coming up with every excuse possible to pass by his room so that she could spy on the two of them. It was really annoying, such a womanly thing to do…They were all the same. Ino, Temari, his mother, Sakura…Actually, Hinata, Tenten, and the new girl Kira didn't seem to be anywhere near as troublesome. Maybe he just attracted irritating women? Gah…

"You know, if you're not going to study, why'd you come?" Shika asked the blonde girl monotonously. Temari jumped, surprised, then relaxed.

"No, I'm studying, I just haven't needed your help yet is all," she said, grinning. Shikamaru saw through it effortlessly.

"Mm-hmm…You came because you wanted to talk to me about something, you never have to study for Calculus, you're almost as good at it as I am," Shikamaru turned to look at her. "What is it that you wanted to talk about, and why couldn't we have done it at school? Not that I'm not thrilled that you gave me an excuse no to go to the mall with Ino, because I am. It would have been bothersome…However, I'm curious as to what you couldn't have said in front of everyone else."

The blonde glared up at him, irritated. "You know, sometimes you really can be way too smart for your own good," she said scathingly. When Shika shrugged, unaffected, she sighed and rubbed her temples. She looked up at him analytically and asked, "Why do you let Ino cling all over you?"

Whatever he'd been expecting, that wasn't it. He started, sitting up and staring at the older girl, shocked and confused. What kind of question was that anyway?! "What do you mean?" Shikamaru asked calmly.

Temari didn't fall for his act. She could see that he was shocked, and that amused her to no end. Hadn't he noticed? This guy _had_ to be kidding! "You never noticed?!" she asked incredulously. When he retained his masked look of confusion, she couldn't help it; she cracked up. Laughing hysterically, she rolled on the ground, clutching her stomach (3). "Y-you're so cl-clueless!" she managed to gasp out between laughs, and Shikamaru turned beet red with embarrassment. "I c-can't bel-lieve you're s-so stu-p-pid!" When finally her frenzied cackling died down to a giggle, she sat up to wipe the laughter-induced tears off of her face and by so doing she caught Shika's glare. "Oh, come on," Temari said coaxingly. "Don't get your undies in a twist. I was just teasing you!"

When Shikamaru merely replied with a glare, she sighed and looked at him. "You mean you really never noticed how Ino hangs all over you? Are you really that dense?"

"She doesn't _hang_ all over me," he spat. "She's just more of a physical person, is all…" Shikamaru tried desperately to defend his view.

"Riiiiight," his friend said, obviously _quite_ convinced. "And there's absolutely no reason at all that it's only you she fawns over…It all makes perfect sense! _Now_ I see why you're the genius and I'm not…"

Shikamaru's ears turned red and he looked away, grabbing his Calculus text book and he began to study. "You know, we should really study," he said, trying to change the subject.

Temari smiled and said, "Sure…And you know, I can tell I obviously don't study enough because I've apparently been doing it wrong all these years. Note to self; when studying, read your text book upside-down!"

Shikamaru was confused, until when, upon looking back at his book, he realized that he had indeed been reading it upside-down. Blushing, he turned it around the right way and tried to drown out Temari's guffawing.

1.) I'm not going to have the Sharingan be how it is in the real show, simply because I don't feel like it. It doesn't go with my whole theme. So…yeah. He'll still have it; it just won't look like the Sharingan.

2.) No pun intended, I SWEAR!

3.) lmao ROFL COPTER!!! (sorry)

**A/N: I'm sooooo sorry it took so long to get this chapter out, it just took me so long to get around to it. I feel dumb. cries**

**From now on I'm going to try to update once a week, but I don't have any of the chapters written ahead, so I can't guarantee anything, but I will try.**

**As always, read and review, and voters get glomps! Flames and criticism are both laughed at, so feel free. **


	5. Rain

**Complex**

**Multi-chaptered**

**By Understandable Enigma**

**Summary: AU. "Shinobi" is a term used to describe the exceedingly rare, endangered hybrids. The hybrids have been hunted nearly to extinction, so much so that they must hide among humans. They face poachers, enemy shinobi, and more...Pairings: NaruHina NejiTen InoShikaTem GaaraOC**

**InoShikaTem triangle votes:**

**Tem: 4**

**Ino: 1**

**w00tness. This is Chappie numero CINCO!**

**Chapter 5: Rain**

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It was Tuesday. The sun was shining merrily, and it was warm and fuzzy…Above the rain clouds, that is. Below the dark, ominous, water-laden pieces of fluff in the air, things were much more miserable, and unfortunately it was below the clouds that everyone lived. Kira, however, wasn't aware of the dreary mood that these clouds instilled in others; she loved the rain! She simply adored how the droplets that fell from the sky would wash everything, make it all clean and fresh. She could smell the rain the night before, so it was with high spirits that she woke Tuesday morning.

As she stood and stretched, Kira looked out the window and smiled at the deep gray cumulus clouds that hung low in the sky. Not only was it going to rain, but it was going to be a thunderstorm! Thunder and lightning were exciting, and it made up for the fact that she couldn't see the moon on cloudy nights. So, figuring that she'd be outside watching the rain that night anyway, Kira chose not to shower that morning but to simply wait for the rain to wash away the day. She quickly changed into a white tank top, jeans, and the same black hoodie she'd worn yesterday, and then set about combing her auburn tresses. She then brushed her teeth and put on some eyeliner, and finally grabbed her bag and headed out the door. She nodded to Iruka as she was leaving the house, and he looked up from his paper.

"Kira," he called, stopping the teen in her tracks, "if you don't mind waiting just a minute, you could walk with Sasuke." Kira hesitated, unsure. Sasuke…she remembered the name. He'd been the boy who hadn't wanted to welcome her to the home, the anti-social panther kid. It had taken her a while to identify his scent, but when he'd let go of his disguise last night the scent had become excruciatingly clear to Kira's sensitive nose. She wasn't sure that Sasuke wanted to walk with her, or really that he wanted anything to do with her, but he seemed quiet, so she decided he couldn't really be a bother. With that, she nodded slightly and sat down on the living room couch to wait for the stoic boy.

Sasuke, however, had overheard the conversation, and wasn't pleased at all. Damn that idiot Iruka for wanting him to be social! Why was it such a big deal that he was an introvert? Iruka knew he had some friends already, why should he have more? It was with great annoyance that Sasuke left his room and headed out the front door without a word, registering subconsciously that Kira was following him silently.

The two walked in silence towards the school, and basically ignored the other's presence. Sasuke was contemplating what his friends would say if he walked to school with Kira…They'd probably expect him to invite her to chill with them. How annoying…Why did it have to be him? I mean, just because he lived with her shouldn't mean that he should be the one to get her to hang out with them! Meanwhile, Kira was completely ignoring the brooding young man. She was mainly concerned with finding out when it was going to rain; she was sniffing the air intently, trying to get some sort of sign. Smelling that it _was_ going to rain was easy…Smelling _when_ it was going to rain was the hard part. This was how the two spent their walk together, until they came in view of the school. Then, Kira began to wonder whether or not to try to make friends. She really didn't want to…she just wasn't a social person. While she was debating that, Sasuke had finally decided that yes, much to his displeasure, he was going to invite Kira to hang with them, and now was debating on how to do that. As they neared the school gate, Sasuke finally spoke up.

"Kira," Sasuke said. Said girl turned to look at him inquiringly. Sasuke gestured for her to follow him and said monotonously, "Some of my friends want to meet you." Intrigued, Kira followed him. She didn't know that Mr. I-Don't-Like-People had friends! They were _sure_ to be an…_interesting _crowd. So, Kira followed the dark-haired teen towards the large willow tree, and she saw many other people sitting there. When she and Sasuke arrived, they were all staring; some openly, some more subtly.

"You all know Kira," Sasuke said in a bored tone. "Kira, I think you know Gaara," said teen was gestured to, who 'hn-ed' without looking up from his sketch book. "This is Neji, he's a year older than us," and Sasuke gestured to a slightly girly-looking guy who merely nodded back, "as are Tenten and Lee." The girl with twin brown buns merely scowled, but the bowl-cut boy jumped over and shook her hand enthusiastically, blabbering about "youth"…Kira was, needless to say, slightly afraid. Sasuke continued like this was completely ordinary. "The guy with the weird hat is a year above them, he's Kankuro," Kankuro nodded, giving Kira an appraising, almost predatory look which she completely ignored, "and the blonde over there with the weird hair is Temari…she's a senior." The girl gave Kira a toothy grin and said, "Yo."

Sasuke sighed and said, "Now for the people in our grade; the blonde with the ponytail is Ino, the one with the supposedly natural pink hair is Sakura, the lazy-ass asleep with the book on his face is Shikamaru, the big guy is Chouji, the guy with the shades is Shino, the girl hiding behind Neji is Hinata, his cousin, and Kiba and Naruto are—"

"OI!!!" the exuberant yell came from a short way behind them, and Kira and Sasuke turned to look. Sasuke sighed and finished, "—right there. The loud blond is Naruto, the loud brunette is Kiba."

"They seem…loud," Kira commented dryly. As Kiba and Naruto neared, Kira got a hold of the unmistakable scent of dog…It was coming from the one called Kiba.

"Hey, how's it going?" Kiba asked, smiling brightly. Kira merely nodded and said, "Ok…" Then, however, Naruto decided to make his presence known.

"Oi, I'm Uzumaki Naruto, at your service! Remember the name; because I'm gonna be famous some day!" the blonde said exuberantly. Kira raised a thin eyebrow in skepticism.

"Really? I don't think that anyone would be able to tolerate such a loud person being famous…I mean, famous people hang out with other famous people, and you know, other famous people would probably try to shoot you," the girl said sardonically. However, one could tell from the glimmer in her eyes that she was merely joking with the blond, but Naruto wasn't that observant.

"HEY! What was that for?! You are mean…I need a hug now!" With that, Naruto ran and glomped Hinata, who "eep"ed. Naruto laughed and let go of her, instead sitting down and looking up at the clouds. "Man," he said, aggravated, "it's going to rain! I wanted to go outside today to do stuff…"

"Then go out in the rain, dobe," said Sasuke coldly. "It's not like it's ever stopped you before, baka kitsune."

"Shut up, I don't see you going out in the rain, scaredy-cat!" growled Naruto.

Sasuke twitched from the insult, but chose not to say anything…The fact was that Naruto was right: Sasuke never went out in the rain…he hated the rain, with a passion. He hated the sensation of water falling on him, and he hated thunder and lightning. He had to always take baths instead of showers because they reminded him so forcefully of the rain…however, no one knew that, and no one needed to know. It wasn't anyone's business that Sasuke didn't like the rain…Also, don't get confused and think that Sasuke was _afraid_ of the rain. That idea would be simply preposterous and I don't know WHERE you came up with it. It's ludicrous! An Uchiha, _afraid_ of something as simple as the rain…Pfft, as if!

The rest of the morning passed as usual for most of the group, while Kira was slowly attempting to become acclimated to the environment around her newfound friends. She wasn't used to having friends, so she was glad that these people accepted her…For one thing, she could smell that they were shinobi like her. For another thing, they didn't seem to mind if people in their group were antisocial, and that fit Kira just fine. Slowly, she became more relaxed, and as she did she remembered something she'd overheard her teachers saying a couple years ago…

_o0o0o0o0oFLASHBACKo0o0o0o0o_

_Kira was walking in the halls, and she passed by a pair of her teachers, both of whom smiled and greeted her. She merely nodded and continued on. When they thought she was out of hearing range, they began speaking…However, they didn't know about Kira's shinobi's hearing. _

"_She's an oddball, that one," said one teacher. "She's never around anyone else, she's always alone!"_

"_Yeah…" said the other, "she's a classic "lone wolf" complex. She's out of her element here; she's been separated from her family and stuff…She wants a "pack" but she doesn't want to put her heart in danger of being hurt."_

"_You're right; she's a lone wolf if I ever saw one," said the first._

_Kira smirked sadly to herself, amazed at the mind-boggling irony. _"You have no idea…" _she thought to herself._

_o0o0o0o0oENDFLASHBACKo0o0o0o0o_

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The rest of the day passed pretty normally, with the kids despising pretty much every minute of it, except those with subjects to look forward to, like Kira and Gaara with their art class, and Shikamaru with his java programming class(1). Other than that, the kids were pretty much miserable…even more so when they left the school building only for it to start raining almost as soon as they got outside.

"DAMNIT!" bellowed Naruto. "Kiba, call Tsume and see if she or Hana can come and pick us up!" Kiba proceeded to call home and secure a ride from his sister, Hana.

Neji, Hinata, Shikamaru and the Sabaku siblings had no problem because they all had cars, or were being taken home by someone with a car. However Lee, Tenten, Sasuke and Kira all didn't have a parent to call or a friend to hitch a ride from. Tenten managed to get one of her foster parents, Kurenai, to pick her and Lee up because she was out of work on maternity leave. Chouji, Sakura, Ino, and Shino were all able to call their parents for rides, so the only two people left without someone to take them home were Sasuke and Kira.

"I'm going to call Iruka and see if he's home…" said Sasuke tiredly. Kira wasn't listening.

"Mmm-hmm…you do that…I'm walking," she informed him, and then proceeded to step out from the cover of the tree and into the downpour. Sasuke was slightly stunned, but didn't comment. If she wanted to get soaked and sick and possibly struck by lightening, then that was her choice. He wanted no part of it; he continued dialing Iruka's number.

Kira was happily walking through the deluge, earning various and in sundry glances of curiosity, skepticism, and downright incredulity. She didn't even notice; she was used to that kind of reaction to her…less than normal behavior. She didn't mind…everyone was entitled to have and opinion of her. Opinions were like feet: everyone had them, and they usually stunk. Kira wasn't worried by these thoughts; instead, she blocked them out and concentrated on the glamorous feel of rain hitting her skin. By now, she'd been walking for a bit, and she was drenched through and through. Her sopping hair and clothes clung to her, and she was sure some of the stuff in her bag was getting wet. She wasn't worried by these thoughts, either; instead, she focused on the rhythmic, musical tone of the thunderclaps rolling through the sky. She loved the rain.

However, all good things must come to an end, and the thunderstorm was no exception. It was one of those storms that came quickly, completely soaked the earth, and then left as suddenly as it had appeared. Kira giggled and thought, "_The rain is like a ninja…_"

When she finally made it back to the foster home, she was greeted by a general atmosphere of shock, concern, and admonishment. Iruka scolded her fiercely about walking in the rain, saying all sort of stuff about how it was dangerous and hazardous to her health and blah, blah, blah. Kira listened to every word politely and, wrapped in her towel, then addressed Iruka just as politely.

"Sorry, but I can't heed any of that advice," she said simply, while retaining a respectful tone. "I love the rain."

With that, Kira headed to her room to shower and change.

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**(1) I got this idea from whiteraven12345 and my supposed twin SHMEF. :D Thanks, guys! To me, java is coffee, not programming, but apparently it is a language. Yay, learning new things!  
**

**A/N: Sorry for the late update, in return this is the longest chapter yet. Sue me, I write short chapters. Balancing writing, studying, and working is not easy. Anyway, HAPPY HALLOWEEN! I hope all of you went Trick-or-Treating, because if you didn't I shall have to smite you. Hallows Eve is THE best holiday ever. **


	6. Sickness

**Complex**

**Multi-chaptered**

**By Understandable Enigma**

**Summary: AU. "Shinobi" is a term used to describe the exceedingly rare, endangered hybrids. The hybrids have been hunted nearly to extinction, so much so that they must hide among humans. They face poachers, enemy shinobi, and more...Pairings: NaruHina NejiTen ShikaTem GaaraOC**

**Yeah…the votes are closed. I got bored with the votes…So yeah. It's now ShikaTem, officially. I like it better anyway… :)**

**You may have noticed that I haven't updated in…a while. Ok, I'm sorry! But it wasn't totally my fault…I had INSANE writer's block, like really bad. I couldn't write even a haiku poem, and that's only 3 lines for those of you who don't know. Your reward for your patience is an extra long chapter! It's still kind of short though because I write short chapters. XD BTW, I, in NO way, condone teenage smoking!**

**Chapter 6: Sickness**

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Sinister gold eyes glared at the house, while a wicked smirk formed on thin, pale lips. Observing from a perch in a tree, the sickly thin figure watched the inhabitants of the house hungrily. Oh yes…they would work. They would work _marvelously_. Licking his lips, the creepy figure darted out of the tree and returned to his "home" after his spying. The evil grin never left his face as he began to plot…

**..d;;;';gfda;;';gfdaag;trwkuhjl2#.;'rtytr';1'.3rqwrwqefg:"hgf:":fgsj:?eqte,3254#ku12326#/**

Kira shivered as she changed out of her summer pajamas and into her heavier, winter pajamas. As she crawled under the covers, she was still trembling…Why was it so freezing in here? Kira was absolutely exhausted and freezing to death…What? It was only four o'clock? Oh well, she'd have a nap and maybe she wouldn't be so cold and tired when she woke up…

Sasuke sat in his room, working on the last of his homework at his desk. When he was finished, he went on his computer and started to surf the internet…That was all he ever did. He barely went out with his friends unless Naruto forcefully dragged him, and he never spent time with his foster "siblings". In fact, he barely even knew all their names, even though he'd been in the home since he was eight years old. So, Sasuke sat at his computer, watching movies, reading stuff, and playing games. What you might not know about Sasuke is that he has quite the short attention span for things that do not stimulate his larger-than-normal brain…So pretty much everything bored him. He could stand to do something for a few minutes, but would promptly get bored and move on to something else. So, because he was doing all sorts of different things, he lost track of time that evening, as he so often did. He only realized what time it was when Iruka came into his room and told him that it was seven o'clock and that dinner was ready. He also asked Sasuke to go fetch Kira for him…Ugh. How annoying! What would it take for him to lay off?! Nevertheless, Sasuke walked disinterestedly towards Kira's room.

Sasuke knocked on the door. "Oi, dinner," he called. There was no response, so he knocked again, louder this time. "Oi! It's time for dinner!" Once again, he was met by silence…He was starting to get unnerved, so he pressed his ear to the door to see if she was even in there. He heard light snoring…She was sleeping? Sasuke's eyebrow twitched in irritation, and he opened the door. Why him? He sighed as he walked over to Kira's sleeping form. He shook her shoulder and said, "Kira, wake up!" The girl started and opened her eyes groggily.

"Huh?" she asked, confused. Why was it STILL so cold in here? She huddled deeper into the covers and mumbled to Sasuke, "Go 'way, 'm cold…"

Sasuke blinked. Kira looked flushed, and said she was cold…Shit. The idiot got sick from walking in the rain! Damnit…now HE had to be the one to tell Iruka…Why did God hate him so? Sighing dejectedly, Sasuke left Kira's room and closed the door behind him. He walked indifferently toward the eat-in kitchen, finding that all the rest of his housemates were already present. Iruka looked up from serving the food he'd so lovingly made to find Sasuke was alone. Frowning, Iruka stood up straight.

"Where's Kira? I told you to get her for dinner," Iruka said, mildly irritated. Sasuke merely glared at the man.

"She's sleeping in her room. She's flushed and when I woke her up, she told me to go away and that she was cold," Sasuke told his guardian monotonously. He sighed and continued, "She's probably sick from walking home in the rain."

Iruka's expression changed from irritated to concerned. "Anna, finish serving dinner. Sasuke, come with me." Sasuke followed Iruka impartially to Kira's room, and when Iruka felt her forehead he swore quietly. "Go get me a thermometer, the phone, a towel and a bowl of cool water, please," he told Sasuke while he set about waking Kira up again. Sasuke scowled at being an errand boy, but nonetheless went and got the items Iruka asked for, and returned to find Kira sitting up, shivering while Iruka piled more covers on her.

"Sasuke, I'm going to go make some soup. Could you take her temperature and call the doctor to set up an appointment for tomorrow?" Iruka left without waiting for an answer. Sasuke scowled and gave the thermometer to Kira to put under her tongue. When it beeped, he looked at the digital screen and read 103 degrees. Sasuke swore and called up the local doctor, Tsunade.

"Hello, Doctor Tsunade's office, how may I help you?" came the cool voice of Shizune, Tsunade's assistant, through the phone. Sasuke twitched slightly; to his sensitive ears, the sound of people's voices through the phone was strange and grating.

"Yeah, I need an appointment for tomorrow for one of the kids from Iruka's home. She's got a fever of 103 degrees and is really tired."

"Ok…" Sasuke heard the sharp clicking of long fingernails on a plastic keyboard. "We have a timeslot open at 3:30, is that alright?" Sasuke thought for a minute…Tomorrow Iruka would be working late, so he couldn't take her. Damn…he'd have to have Temari take them. "Hello? Are you still there?"

"Yeah, I'm here. 3:30 will be fine," Sasuke said dismally. He hung up on Shizune and turned to Kira. He picked up the small hand towel that he'd brought, soaked it in the cool water, and then placed it on her forehead. She shivered uncomfortably, but didn't take it off. She looked at Sasuke blearily.

"Why are you being so nice?" she asked. Sasuke sighed and sat next to her in a chair he pulled over from the desk.

"Well, you need help so I'm helping. You're also a friend, so I'm helping. Lastly, Iruka would skin me alive if I didn't," Sasuke said, bored. It was just a minute later that Iruka returned with the soup. He looked frazzled and annoyed.

"Sasuke, I know I'm asking a lot, but I need to get back out there, some of the younger kids are acting up, and I need to intervene…so could you stay here with Kira? I'll have Anna send your diner in," Iruka said breathlessly while he handed the soup to Kira. Sasuke nodded, and Iruka looked at him gratefully. Just then, they heard glass breaking and shouts and screams from the kitchen, and Iruka stormed out.

Kira slowly ate the soup. She was very conscious of the fact that Sasuke was just sitting there, watching her. She was also very aware of the fact that he was being really nice to her…She rather liked Sasuke. He was a stoic, stand-offish guy, but he apparently was nice to his friends. He also considered her a friend even though they'd hardly known each other a day. That confused her.

"Sasuke," she said quietly. He replied with his typical "Hn". She looked at him intently and asked, "Why am I your friend?"

He obviously wasn't expecting that. He looked at her, confused. "Birds of a feather flock together," he said simply. Kira nodded, understanding. Because they were both shinobi, they both knew what it was like to be alone in a world that despised them. She continued eating for a time, then without looking at him asked, "So, how'd you end up here?" She saw him flinch visibly out of the corner of her eye and added hastily, "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to…I was just curious."

It was then that the door opened, saving Sasuke from having to answer. Anna walked in with Sasuke's dinner, and before she left she made some hand gestures towards Kira. With that, she closed the door. Sasuke, sensing Kira's confusion, said, "Anna is mute. Her family was brutally murdered, and she hasn't spoken since. Those hand signs meant, 'Get well soon'." Anna was possibly the only other housemate that Sasuke liked. She was human, but she knew what it was like to be alone, and the fact that she was mute meant that she never pissed Sasuke off. She was also quite pretty…But Sasuke shook those thoughts out of his head and began eating his meal.

Kira thought about that for a long moment. She swallowed the soup in her mouth with some difficulty, put the soup on the bedside table, and closed her eyes, deep in thought. After a minute, she said, almost imperceptibly, "Me, too."

Sasuke stopped eating and looked at her inquiringly. Sensing his confusion, Kira elaborated, "My pack was murdered, well slaughtered would be a better term, and there wasn't anything I could do about it. I was the only one who survived…the _only one_." Kira shook her head. "It's all my fault, all my fault…I led them there, all my fault…"

For a while, Sasuke had forgotten about her fever, but now the way she was talking wasn't making sense. She was rambling, and the normally quiet girl would probably never have told him anything had she not been ill. He removed the towel from her head to find that it was no longer cold, and so he put it in the cold water, wrung it out and replaced it to her forehead. Kira groaned uncomfortably, but was falling back asleep so didn't remove it. When her breathing evened out, Sasuke sighed and finished eating his dinner. He left Kira's room and went to drop off his dishes in the kitchen, and on the way he passed Anna. He gave her a rare half-smile and thanked her for the food, then turned back towards Kira's room, missing the blush on Anna's face.

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Sasuke stayed in Kira's room all night, sleeping on the armchair in the corner. Each time Kira woke up he would too, and he aided her all through the night. In the morning, Iruka was rushed and flustered, and allowed Sasuke to stay home and take care of Kira. Sasuke looked at the clock on the wall and saw that school hadn't started yet, and he could still call Temari. So, he pulled out his cell phone, flipped it open and scrolled down his contacts until he reached her number, then called it.

"Hello?" came Temari's voice, crackling jarringly against Sasuke's ears.

"Temari, I need you to give Kira and I a lift to the doctor's at 3:20," he said bluntly. "The dumb canine decided to walk home in the rain and got ill," he explained.

"Uh, sure, Sasuke," Temari said, mildly unsure. "Gaara's going to have to come with us, though."

"Hn. Thanks," Sasuke hung up before Temari could respond, then set about making something for he and Kira to eat.

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And so the day passed slowly for Sasuke and torturously for Kira. She despised getting ill, and she usually didn't; the combination of walking home in the rain, the stress from moving _again_, and her body still adjusting to the climate of Konoha all ganged up on her and caused her immune system to be weak. She stayed in bed the whole day, the only thing making the day better was talking to Sasuke and, surprisingly, getting responses. Kira was never much of a talker, but something about Sasuke caused her to feel…relaxed. That was a feeling that she hadn't had since before her family…Well, she supposed it was merely because he and his friends were the first shinobi to try and befriend her since it happened, and he lived with her so they obviously had a lot of interaction. By 3:00, Kira was confident that she knew Sasuke pretty well, and that he was already her closest friend since the incident. She also noticed that he was severely disturbed by his past, and on the one or two occasions that the subject had come up she'd had the urge to comfort him, like a sister would. It was through her illness that she and Sasuke became best friends.

On his part, Sasuke found he quite liked Kira. She was intelligent and perceptive, and he felt he could trust her. She was the least annoying woman he'd ever met with the exception of Anna, and he decided that she was quickly becoming his closest friend besides Naruto. Like Naruto, Kira gave him a sense of having a sibling, something he had once thought he'd lost long ago. Kira was like the sister he'd never had, someone who was interested in him and liked him for being _him_, not because she though he was attractive or liked that he was perfect and rich; Kira liked Sasuke simply because he was Sasuke. Maybe Iruka'd had the right idea after all in pushing him to be friends with Kira.

At quarter past three, Kira and Sasuke were just discussing their differing tastes in music when Temari called to say that she was on her way. "Make sure you're both ready to go when we get there," she warned, "because Gaara's with us and he's pissed off enough that he has to come, making him wait would be reckless and possibly suicidal." Sasuke had heard the growl in the background, and shook his head at Temari's antics…What she said about Gaara was true, because the teen was unstable, and yet she says it right in front of him, intentionally goading him. Gaara and Sasuke had only ever fought once, and though it had ended badly for Sasuke, he'd put up enough of a fight that Gaara had respect for him.

Sasuke left Kira to let her get dressed and ready, and went to make himself presentable as well. His hair was down out of its typical emo style, and he was definitely not leaving the house like that. Once his black hair was artfully locked into place with liberal amounts of wax (he preferred it to gel), he went to wait downstairs for Kira. Said wolf was able to make it down the stairs only by leaning on the wall, so Sasuke decided to take her temperature again…104.3. Now, Sasuke was no doctor, but he had a vague idea that that was bad. They heard Temari give two short honks on her horn, and they headed out the door quickly so as not to piss some people off. Kira walked ahead unsteadily, while Sasuke walked right behind her, catching her elbow whenever she stumbled. Gaara and Temari watched from the car, Temari concerned and Gaara irritated. When the two teenagers finally reached the car and clambered into the back seat, Temari turned around in her seat and stared.

"You weren't kidding when you said she was really sick!" she said. "How high is her fever?"

Sasuke shut the door and buckled himself in, as did Kira. "Last night her fever was 103, but we just retook it and now it says 104.3…" he said, rubbing his eyes.

Temari muttered an oath as she pulled out of the driveway. "If her temperature gets any higher, they're going to have to admit her into the hospital," she said gravely. Gaara remained silent, but turned in the passenger seat to look back at Kira, who gave him a weak smile.

"Oi, Gaara. How's the picture coming?" Kira's voice was slightly thick from her fever.

"Hn." Gaara turned back around in his seat, but not before Kira saw the fleeting look of concern in his eyes…Or had she seen it? Man, her head hurt…

The rest of the ride to the clinic was silent and uneventful, and they were right on time for Kira's appointment. Unfortunately, because she'd never been to the clinic before, the receptionist Shizune insisted that her guardian fill out a medical form. When they explained, however, that Iruka was unavailable, Kira just rolled her eyes and grabbed the form and filled it out herself in about five minutes. Then, they were finally allowed in to see Tsunade.

When Kira first saw Tsunade, the first thing she noticed was the doctor's piercing amber gaze. Most people first noticed the giant chest, but Kira was taken aback by the golden gaze that reminded her so much of…Kira forced herself to think it. Tsunade's eyes reminded Kira forcefully of…her mother. Kira was surprised that it didn't hurt as much to think of her family. Ever since the incident when she was eight, Kira had made it a point to never think of her family…Now, she decided that it was time to move on. Now that she had people who cared about her, she could stop running from her past and carry on with what was ahead for her.

While Kira was having this epiphany, Tsunade was introducing herself. The other three teens had all already met Tsunade at one point or another, so the introduction meant for Kira was pretty much wasted. When Kira pulled herself from her thoughts and finally realized that the doctor had been speaking directly to her, she shook her head slightly and said, "Sorry, what?" Sasuke mistakenly thought it was her fever that caused Kira's lack of attention.

"She had a fever of 103 last night, and just before we came we rechecked and her fever read 104.3," he informed Tsunade, who nodded and also accepted that as an excuse for Kira's poor concentration. The blonde doctor took out a thermometer and checked Kira's temperature yet again, and her eyes weren't too worried when she saw the digital readout.

"Well," she said, "this says that your temperature is 103.6, so I'm not too worried. It seems like you've got a virus, but you seem like a generally healthy girl so I'm just going to give you something to boost your immune system so you can fight it off naturally. I'll go check to see if we've got anything in stock so you can save a trip to the pharmacy." With that, Tsunade left the teens, who were as a whole relieved. Then, Temari stretched and grabbed her jacket.

"Sasuke, I'm going to have a cigarette," she said. "Come with me and I'll explain what you missed today in AP Stat and Sociology." Sasuke replied typically, and followed Temari leisurely out of the room, raising a hand in farewell to the remaining teens. Thus, Gaara and Kira were alone in the room together.

Gaara was leaning against the wall opposite Kira, who was sitting on the examination table. She looked up to regard the stoic boy in front of her, and studied him closely. He was leaning in a casual but somehow tense way, with his arms crossed in front of him and his eyes closed. He looked, in short, like a typical badass. But, as she looked on, Kira could notice something distinctly uncomfortable about Gaara. He was unsettled by something…but what? Or was it her fever deceiving her? Either way, Kira decided to ask.

"Gaara?" she called in a soft voice. He didn't move a muscle, except to make a grunt of acknowledgement to show he heard her. Kira tilted her head to the side and asked, "What's wrong? Something is troubling you."

Now, Gaara opened his eyes to look at the girl. He saw the flush that indicated her fever, and she was sweating from the multiple layers that were piled on her to keep her warm. Her ice blue eyes were unfocused, but he could tell that she was analyzing him. This was irritating; he did not like to be evaluated. However, it wasn't like he was going to tell her off for it…she was sick, and if he did anyway Temari would rip him a new one. He wasn't afraid of his sister, but he did happen to agree with one lazy guy in that she was a huge pain in the ass. Whatever. "I'm just annoyed," he told Kira monotonously.

Kira blinked blearily and asked, "Why?" Gaara twitched imperceptibly. Man she was annoying when she was ill! She was talking a lot. She usually never did, but now that she was ill she didn't seem to be able to shut up. Kira seemed to sense Gaara's annoyance. "Oh, I'm babbling, aren't I?" she asked tiredly. "Sorry, I get that way…when I'm sick…" The teen lied down on the examination table. "I'll just lie down…for a second…" In less than two minutes, Gaara could tell that she was asleep. Great.

It was then that Tsunade came back with the medicine for Kira. She smirked when she saw the teenager asleep on the examination table. "Well," she chuckled, "sleep is best when you're sick…" She turned and handed the medicine to Gaara. "Are you going to need help to get her out of here?" The doctor asked. Gaara sighed and shook his head. Tsunade nodded and exited the room, leaving Gaara to carry Kira out of the clinic. After pocketing the medicine, Gaara scooped the girl up bridal style in his strong arms and proceeded to get the hell out of there.

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Temari stood outside with Sasuke, taking long, leisurely pulls on the cigarette in her mouth. She had recently taken to smoking, much to the displeasure of those around her, but no one was going to force her to quit. It was her body to kill. So, Sasuke stood bored while Temari smoked her cancer sticks. He waited for a long while for her to start talking and filling him in on what he'd missed that day at school, but she seemed disinclined to discuss. This irked him greatly. Why would she drag him out her under false pretenses? However, he didn't say anything, but remained in annoyed silence while Temari finished her cigarette. When she had finished and ground the butt into the ground with her foot, she turned to Sasuke.

"The reason I had you come out here is because I have a theory," she said with a devious glint in her dark teal eyes. "You see, I think that Gaara has a thing for Kira." If Sasuke's eyebrows could go any higher, they'd be in outer space. Temari nodded, "I know, right? It seems crazy, but I think there may be something there. You know, he drew a picture because of her. He told me that she inspired him." The older girl smirked at Sasuke. "Do you have a thing for Kira?"

Sasuke snorted. "No, not at all, not in that way at least," he clarified. "She lives with me. That would be weird…It would be like having a thing for one of my siblings. No, she and I are friends." Temari nodded and they stood there in silence, giving Gaara and Kira some quality alone time, although how "quality" and "alone" they could be in an exam room in the clinic is unknown. What neither of them expected, however, was for Gaara to come out carrying a sleeping Kira.

Temari saw the exasperated look on her brother's face and smirked. "Uncomfortable there, Gaara?" The death glare he shot her could have frightened Chuck Norris, and it only got worse when Kira unconsciously snuggled closer to him for warmth and Temari started giggling.

"Just shut up and get in the car," Gaara ground out angrily. Temari continued to chuckle and Sasuke just rolled is eyes as the four teens got into the car.

**AN: And, break! Ok, I hope you liked it, and once again I'm very sorry for not updating. Review, please. Sorry, no witty remarks today, too tired. **


	7. Suspicion

Complex

**Complex**

**Multi-chaptered**

**By Understandable Enigma**

**Summary: AU. "Shinobi" is a term used to describe the exceedingly rare, endangered hybrids. The hybrids have been hunted nearly to extinction, so much so that they must hide among humans. They face poachers, enemy shinobi, and more...Pairings: NaruHina NejiTen ShikaTem GaaraOC**

**Greetings again, my lovelies. See, now that my writer's block has abated, I am now simply overflowing with creative…stuff. I don't know how to describe it, but it means that I'll be updating more! Woo!**

**Chapter 7: Suspicion**

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In the end, Gaara had been unable to get Kira to let go of him, and so sat in the back seat on the way back to her house. Sasuke sat in the front, smirking whenever he caught Gaara's eye, who in turn scowled. Temari, of course, found the whole situation hysterical and pretty much had a grin on her face the whole way. So, since he had nothing other to do besides to glare at Sasuke, Gaara took this opportunity to observe Kira more closely. Her olive skin was a nicer shade than his skin, which would burn, and he could tell she would tan in the sun. Her striking eyes, currently closed, were the same, palest of blues that would always remind him of ice. He had a feeling she could give even Sasuke chills if she ever decided to glare at him (but not Gaara himself, of course, because nothing could frighten _him_). He gazed at her straighter-than-straight hair and realized vaguely that she straightened it with a flat iron. Her hair fell to the small of her back, and was a red-brown color several shades browner than Gaara's own. Because he was regarding her so intently, he noticed something peculiar at her hairline, just at the roots…Her hair was a different color. She dyed it? Gaara wrinkled his nose in his mind; he hadn't known that Kira took so much stock in her outward appearance, and now that he realized how much that she did, his opinion of her fell quite a few degrees. Looking closely, he saw that the color at the roots of Kira's hair was…gray?

He didn't have time to ponder this because at that moment Kira decided to finally wake up. She stirred, shifting uncomfortably in her position (on Gaara's lap). She groaned in pain, probably her fever headache, and then finally opened her eyes just a crack. She could tell she was in a car, but what she was sitting on was definitely not a seat…Just then her sensitive nose picked up the arid, dry scent of sand and she realized belatedly that she was sitting on Gaara's lap. _Oh, I fell asleep in the doctor's office, and I guess Gaara carried me out, and now I'm on his lap,_ she thought tiredly. Then…_WAIT A MINUTE!!_ Kira yelped and jumped about a foot in the air, and narrowly missed smashing her head on the roof of the car. Sasuke turned to look at her and Gaara simply stared at her, one thin reddish eyebrow raised (1). Kira embarrassedly scrambled off of Gaara's lap and into her own seat next to him and buckled her seatbelt. Temari was laughing out loud, Sasuke was snickering, and the corners of Gaara's mouth were twitching upward. Kira's cheeks were a flaming red that had nothing to do with her fever, and she mumbled an apology to Gaara for having fallen asleep. Gaara in turn just waved his hand in a noncommittal way, and the rest of the trip home was silent, save for Temari's laughter.

Once the four reached the building at which Sasuke and Kira lived, called First-Class Foster Family, all but Temari got out of the car. Sasuke bid farewell to Temari and Gaara, and Kira said goodbye to Temari and thanked her for driving there. Then, as Sasuke was walking into the house, Kira stopped Gaara before he could reclaim the shotgun seat. He looked at her questioningly, and she gave a weak smile. "Thank you," she whispered, and Gaara smiled ever so slightly.

"Don't worry about it," and he climbed into the car. As they pulled away, Kira waved to them, and then turned to enter the house. Once inside, she found that all the other kids were home, and that Sasuke had disappeared into his room. Not wanting to get the others sick and figuring that Sasuke had already been exposed to whatever she had, she headed past the living room to the hall, the first room on the right being Sasuke's. All of the others had looked up and greeted her when she came in, and she gave them all weak smiles and waves, and she could tell they were still watching as she walked towards the door with the white and red fan on it. When she placed her hand on the doorknob, knowing that Sasuke would know it was her, she heard faint gasping from those behind her. She smiled inwardly, her inner mischievous side coming out just the slightest bit, and brazenly pushed the door open and plopped down on Sasuke's bed, to the amazement of their housemates.

Sasuke's only response was an irritated, "Close the door, they're loud and I need to concentrate on my work." Grinning, Kira went to close the door, and as she was doing so caught sight of the awestruck faces outside. She closed the door, shaking her head in the process. She turned around and flopped back on Sasuke's bed, curled up and shivering. "So, you aren't the most social of creatures, eh?" Kira asked Sasuke sarcastically, watching him as he worked at the computer. Sasuke snorted.

"Of course not…I really hate socializing. However, there are some people I tolerate, namely my friends," he said. "Other than that, I keep to myself. I don't form bonds with those I cannot trust, and the only person in this house that I can trust besides myself is you."

"Because we're the same?" asked Kira. Sasuke nodded, and Kira shrugged. She guessed that was a good reason…But she also felt that maybe it was a bad thing that all of the Shinobi she knew avoided relationships with humans—the humans could never know who they were, of course, but it was suspicious to avoid humans when they're all around you. Also, in the days of old, humans and Shinobi were friends, and traded together and sometimes even married one another. Alas, those days of peace were long gone…The war changed everything.

They say that the Great Shinobi War was the bloodiest war in history for both sides, and seeing as how "all" the Shinobi in Japan were "extinct", Kira figured that it was. However, the humans suffered nearly as many losses. The humans outnumbered the Shinobi about 250 to 1, because the humans were far more prolific. Humans could have many life partners, but Shinobi had only one love, and if that person died (because Shinobi never left one another, they mated for life) then the one left alive would never move on, never have any more children. Also, depending on the species, Shinobi could only have children every few years, the longest spans being for the deadlier breeds. For example, rabbits like Hinata could have a child once a year, but a wolf like Kira could only have a child once every five years. Thus, human numbers were staggeringly higher than Shinobi numbers…Which is why they won the war. Humans are far softer, breakable, and fragile than Shinobi, who are made to live in the wild. Shinobi are far more deadly, as well, with their teeth, claws, and speed. An unarmed human in conflict with a Shinobi would be dead in seconds…But then, in the war humans were never unarmed, and Shinobi took it as a weakness to fight with weapons.

A Shinobi, for all intents and purposes, is like a half-human, half-animal being. They had qualities of both kinds of being, and were, as a result, the most dangerous beings on the earth. See, they had the deadly cunning and intelligence of a human, but the durability and lethality of an animal. This is the reasoning behind the slightly derogatory slang term, Hybrids…However, because of their animalistic instincts, Shinobi were not naturally violent. They tended to run from danger when they could, and only attacked when provoked. Thus, humans believed them to be extinct because all wild Shinobi ran as soon as a human was anywhere near them nowadays. Another thing that was unknown to humans was that a Shinobi could take any of three forms: their human form, their Shinobi form, and their animal form. The human form had the greatest thinking and reasoning skills, but was also the most uncomfortable and difficult for a Shinobi to maintain. The animal form was stronger and faster than normal animals of that species, but took a toll on the person's cognitive and reasoning skills. The best form of a Shinobi, the most comfortable and also the most recognizable, was their natural form, a blend of animal and human characteristics.

Take Sasuke for example. In his Shinobi form, he has paws, retractable claws, very sharp fangs, panther ears and a tail. However, he's got an otherwise normal human face, a normal torso and only a small amount of fur on his paws, ears and tail. His eyes also turned the unsettling golden green color that most big cats have with the slit pupils famous to the feline family. Kira pondered over her own Shinobi form…Thick, shining silver fur would cover her arms up to her elbows and halfway up her shins. She had a bushy silver tail and pointed ears, along with long claws that weren't retractable and very sharp teeth. Her eyes remained steely blue, but her pupils grew to allow for far superior night vision, and the cones in her eyes were less sharp, so colors weren't as vibrant. But, she was stronger, faster, and just so much…_better_.

Kira wondered if there were any humans left who would befriend a Shinobi. Honestly, it had happened before, right? It seemed logical that a human and a Shinobi could become friends, and then stay friends even if the human discovered what the Shinobi really was…Well, if the human was a good person and the friendship was strong enough. Kira was so caught up in these thoughts that she didn't realize that Sasuke was talking to her until he screamed her name and hit her in the face with a pillow.

"Huh?" she asked dumbly. Sasuke was frustrated that she wasn't paying attention, and flabbergasted at how detached she had just been.

"What are you, stoned?" he asked, smirking. "I asked you if you wanted food. It's almost six o'clock." Kira glanced at the glowing red numbers on the face of the digital clock that rested on Sasuke's neat end table. Sure enough, he was right. Man, they really needed to get out more. Honestly, who spends a couple hours just sitting there, thinking? Kira turned to Sasuke and gave him a sheepish smile.

"Yeah, that would be great, thanks. While you get it, can I go on your computer?" she asked. Sasuke looked like he was going to say no, so she pouted with her best puppy dog face, which, unsurprisingly, is very easy to master when you're part canine. Sasuke rolled his eyes and 'hn-ed', then walked out the door and into the kitchen. Grinning at her victory, Kira climbed off of Sasuke's bed and walked over to his computer and proceeded to play solitaire. She loved that game, and she played it all the time. She really hadn't had anything to do when she was younger after her family had died because she was always alone, so she played solitaire constantly. It was among the reasons she was ridiculed at her old school. However, she never really did care what others thought, and continued to play the game in solitude. Shocking, considering the nature of the game, eh?

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Sasuke wandered lazily out to the kitchen while Kira remained in his room. He looked in the refrigerator, trying to find something easy to cook that he could eat. He never was one for cooking, although over the years he had become more that proficient at it. He just really hated cooking because it made such a mess. He knew that Iruka would be home late tonight, and that Anna would take care of everyone else, but he didn't feel like waiting for his food. Anna would usually make dinner around seven, and he wanted food now. Sasuke shut the refrigerator door, irritated, and looked in the cabinets to find something simple and quick to make. He grabbed a box of macaroni and cheese and started to prepare it when the doorbell rang. He knew someone else would answer it, so he didn't bother to really even acknowledge it. However, when the door opened and one of his housemates called his name, he put down the food he was making and made his way to the door.

It was Gaara. No wonder the person who had answered the door had automatically called for Sasuke…Gaara wasn't the friendliest of people. Okay, he was downright scary to people who weren't his friends. Sasuke let him in and closed the door, then turned to look at the redhead. He raised one dark eyebrow in question, and in response Gaara silently dug one hand into his pocket, and pulled out a bottle of medicine and shook it. As the pills inside rattled against the plastic, it clicked in Sasuke's brain; Kira's medicine. He smirked and nodded towards his room, saying simply, "My room." Nodding, Gaara proceeded silently to Sasuke's room, while Sasuke in turn went back into the kitchen. Sasuke's housemates that had witnessed the nearly silent exchange sweat-dropped.

When Gaara entered Sasuke's room, he found Kira playing solitaire on Sasuke's computer. Odd. Sasuke usually never let anyone within ten feet of his computer. When Kira heard Gaara come in the door, she looked up and smiled. "Hey, Gaara," she closed out of the game and turned to face him. "What's up?" He wordlessly chucked the bottle to her. She caught it deftly and looked at it, confused, until she realized it was her medicine. Tsunade must have given it to Gaara when she'd fallen asleep on the table. Remembering the events caused her to blush, especially when she recalled waking up on Gaara's lap. She laughed, trying to hide her embarrassment. "Thanks, Gaara. So, what else is up?" She asked, motioning toward the bed, indicating that Gaara should make himself comfortable.

Gaara thought that it was a bit presumptuous of Kira to invite people to be comfortable in someone else's room, but nonetheless sat on Sasuke's bed. She was waiting patiently for him to answer, so he said, "Hn. I finished the picture I was working on." He had, and he was quite happy with it, too. It had come out better than usual, and he was actually thinking of submitting it to the teacher of his art class for a grade. He actually really liked the teacher's input on his art.

Meanwhile, Kira looked excited. "Cool! Do you think I could see it, or are you one of those shy artists?"

Gaara merely nodded and said, "Hn." Kira, who by now was really getting the hang of interpreting the subtle differences between each 'hn', knew that Gaara was saying, "Yes, of course you can see it, I don't mind." They remained in a companionable silence, sometimes breaking it to talk, but mostly just enjoying each other's company. When Sasuke came in with the food, he had brought three plates and the pot of macaroni, as well as drinks. Kira first used the drink Sasuke had brought to take her medicine, then the three of them ate on the floor of Sasuke's room, seeing as how Sasuke didn't want them eating near his computer or on his bed…friggin' neat freak. Gaara left soon after they were done eating, and Sasuke and Kira talked for a couple hours. Then, Kira's illness made itself known again, and she decided to head to her own room before she fell asleep on Sasuke's floor. Bidding goodnight to the stoic boy and to the kids she passed in the hall, she made her way to the end of the hallway to the room that had recently become hers.

As soon as she entered the room, something seemed off. It felt like there was another presence there, as if something had been changed or altered. It was almost as if…

As if someone had been in there while she was out. Someone who wasn't human.

And from then on is when things started to get interesting.

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**AN: Okay, another chapter down! It's a lot later than I would've liked, but I'm working on it, okay? Also, school lets out in a couple weeks, so I'll be able to update more. However, right now I'm dealing with finals…lots and lots of finals.**

(1) HE DOES HAVE EYEBROWS!!

**Also, the name Anna might be a little confusing, but it's not the English name. It's also a name in Japanese, and is pronounced "ah-nah". I thought that might be a little confusing.**

**As always, please read and review! Now is when the story starts to get good. **


	8. Writing

**Complex**

**Multi-chaptered**

**By Understandable Enigma**

**Summary: AU. "Shinobi" is a term used to describe the exceedingly rare, endangered hybrids. The hybrids have been hunted nearly to extinction, so much so that they must hide among humans. They face poachers, enemy shinobi, and more...Pairings: NaruHina NejiTen ShikaTem GaaraOC**

**Hey would you look at that…I'm here! And not dead! I realize that for quite some time I haven't updated, but with work, school, and writer's block I just was all BLAH. Not to mention people all of a sudden wanting me to be interested in college… (sigh) Anyway, here's the latest installment. Hope you like it!**

**Chapter 8: Writing**

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Kira froze as soon as she entered her room. Her upper lip curled back in a silent snarl as she slowly crept forward, not understanding who could've been in her room. Was it Sasuke? No, it didn't smell like him. Was it any of the other people from her school? No, why would they be in her room? That really didn't make any sense to her. She inched forward, and even as she did the smell was getting fainter and fainter. The person had been in her room recently, within the last few minutes, and their scent was just now fading. That only increased Kira's suspicions; the only way for one's scent to behave in such a manner is if they were hiding it. The person in her room had been looking for something, or doing some other form of sneaky, questionable thing. Her keen eyes swept the room, looking for anything out of the ordinary. Finally, the ice-blue orbs landed on a piece of paper folded and neatly tucked underneath her alarm clock. Her name was scribed on the front in neat, tight script. The handwriting rang an alarm bell somewhere deep in her mind, but she couldn't place why. She went to the note, picked it up, and read it.

Her body went stock-still, her eyes grew wide, and her fingers tightened to the point of pain around the paper. No…

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Hinata sat in her room that night, contemplating what to do. She had a piece of her stationary paper that Naruto had bought her for her birthday in front of her, a pen in her hand. She chewed her lip uncertainly, and every time she tried to bring the pen to the paper, she couldn't figure out what to say. She sighed miserably, when her thoughts were interrupted by a sharp knock on her bedroom door.

"Hinata, get out here and have dinner!" came the shrill voice of her younger sister, Hanabi. "Father says that he's had enough of your childishness! Get out here and stop pouting, now, or else!"

Hinata glared at the door in a fashion that she had never been able to before she'd started seeing Naruto. The thought of him made her miserable again and the glare melted off her face. "I'm not hungry," she called out timidly. "Tell Father that I'm sorry, I just have no desire to eat." Hinata heard her little sister groan exasperatedly and mumble something under her breath. Hinata also listened as Hanabi tried the same thing on Neji, only to receive much the same response, if not much more rude. Hinata heard her irritated baby sibling stomp down the stairs in a manner she knew her mother would never have approved of, then returned to her stationary. She sighed, holding back the tears that came to her eyes every time she thought of her situation.

_How in the world am I supposed to tell him? _she thought miserably. _There's nothing I'd like more than to just scream at Father, refuse to be his puppet. Naruto would be so proud if I did…But I can't do that, can I? He is my father after all, and I am this family's heir…Maybe, if I make Father very upset with me, he'll decide that I'm worthless after all? Maybe then he'll make Hanabi the heir, and I won't have to leave…Why Europe anyway? Why should I have to go? And Neji too, why does he need to be there? This is ridiculous!_ Hinata sighed once more and placed her pen over her paper, trying to think of how to convey her dilemma to Naruto. She knew that there was no way she'd be able to tell him in person, he would react the same way Tenten did…or worse, he would react differently, in a way that would make it even harder. What if he started crying? Oh Gods, Hinata wouldn't be able to handle that. Her hand shook as she began to write out,

_"Dear Naruto…"_

However, she didn't get very far before she heard feet stomping up the stairs and toward the door to her room. It didn't take a genius to recognize the fact that the footfalls were far too large to belong to her sister…Damn. It was her father. She was barely able to set her barely-begun letter aside and stand before her father burst into her room, livid. She shrank away from his anger instinctively, terrified of how he might react. It seems that her doing so only made him angrier, as her strode forward quickly and forcefully grabbed her upper arm. Wordlessly he dragged her out of her room, down the stairs, into the dining room and finally forced her to sit at her place at the table. "Wait," he said, before leaving again, this time no doubt to attempt to drag Neji downstairs as well. Hinata had known she was pushing her luck…She'd skipped dinner for more than three nights in a row now. Hanabi was sitting across from her, looking smug. Hinata ignored her, and stared blankly at her empty plate. She heard footsteps and saw Neji walking of his own volition into the dining room, followed closely by her father. Looking closely, Hinata could see where her father had hit Neji across the face.

Neji silently took his seat next to her while Hinata's father claimed his chair at the head of the table. All were silent as Hiashi offered up the evening prayer. Then, as traditional, Hiashi took his food first, and once he was done it was Hinata's turn. She took as little food as she could, and allowed Hanabi to serve herself. Hinata knew that if she took no food, then Hanabi and Neji wouldn't be allowed to take any. Hanabi took a more than healthy helping of her favorite things, and then Neji was allowed to take food. Like Hinata, he took very little. In fact, all he took was a single green bean. Hinata was shocked and scared for her cousin's well-being. She chanced a look as her father and was greeted by one of the scariest sights she'd ever seen.

"Is there something wrong with the cooking, Neji?" Hiashi asked in a deadly calm voice. Hinata was trembling in her seat, even though his wrath was not directed at her.

"Not at all, Hiashi-sama," Neji replied in a coolly polite voice. "Itadakimasu," he said, and popped the bean into his mouth. Hinata glanced at her father, terrified.

"Hinata, Neji has shown his obvious disrespect for the food in this house…Do you feel the same? Are you disrespecting my house just as much by taking so little food?" Hiashi asked his oldest daughter frostily.

"I-I…I am r-r-really not all th-that…hungry…" Hinata whispered, looking down at her plate. Using her fork she idly pushed the food around on her plate. Suddenly her father stood and slammed his hands on the table, making the three of them jump.

"Since my food is obviously not good enough for the two of you, you shall both no longer receive any of the food that is in my house. No breakfast, lunch, dinner or snack shall pass your ungrateful lips! NOW GET OUT OF MY SIGHT!" Hinata scurried out of the room, anxious to be away from her father. Neji, on the other hand, leisurely got up and strolled from the room. Servants came to take away their place settings. Hiashi sat down again and sighed. The smug look was completely gone from Hanabi's face. He turned to his youngest and asked, "Do you think they'll figure it out?" Hanabi sighed and shook her head. Hiashi nodded and proceeded to finish his meal.

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Sakura was in her room, bored, when her computer dinged. She stretched and left her place on the bed in favor of the chair by her desk.

New IM from blondesR2fun. Sakura accepted the IM and opened the chat window.

**blondesR2fun: **can u tlk?

**prettykittyangel:** yea sure sup?

**blondesR2fun: **i dont kno wht 2 do… shikas been ignoring me and i dont kno y…

**prettykittyangel:** hav u tlked 2 him bout it?

**blondesR2fun: **no

**blondesR2fun: **wht am i supposed 2 say? shika y r u being a dick?

**prettykittyangel:** haha tht would b funny tho

**blondesR2fun: **im serious sakura

**prettykittyangel:** ino if u like him so much ask him out

**blondesR2fun: **i hav!

**prettykittyangel:** hav u sed "shika b my bf?"

**blondesR2fun: **no…

**prettykittyangel:** then try that

**blondesR2fun:** wht if he says no?

**prettykittyangel:** then he says no

**blondesR2fun:** tht doesnt relly help

**prettykittyangel:** sry ino, i dont kno wht else 2 tell u

**prettykittyangel:** we kinda went thru the same thing w/ me and sasuke

**blondesR2fun:** yea but w/ u and sasuke it was different

**prettykittyangel:** o yea how?

**blondesR2fun:** idk it just was!

**prettykittyangel:** no it wasnt and u kno it

BBQ_is_LIFE has signed on.

**prettykittyangel: **did choji just sign on?

**blondesR2fun:** yea

**prettykittyangel: **hes shikas best friend do u want to ask him if he knos anything?

**blondesR2fun:** we could give it a shot…

BBQ_is_LIFE has joined the room.

**prettykittyangel: **hi choji!

**BBQ_is_LIFE:** sakura?

**prettykittyangel:** yup

**blondesR2fun:** hey cho

**BBQ_is_LIFE:** hi ino

**prettykittyangel:** choji we got a question

**BBQ_is_LIFE: **shoot

**prettykittyangel:** has shika been acting weird lately do u think?

**BBQ_is_LIFE:** not relly y?

**prettykittyangel:** b/c he seems weird

**blondesR2fun:** yea he nvr wants 2 hang w/ me anymore

**blondesR2fun:** do u kno y that is?

**BBQ_is_LIFE:** hes been a lil busy lately

**prettykittyangel:** shika? busy? did the world end and no1 told me?

**blondesR2fun:** yea cho that seems unlikely

**BBQ_is_LIFE:** hes been hangin out w/ temari a lot

**blondesR2fun:** do u think temari likes him?

**BBQ_is_LIFE:** idk y do u ask?

**blondesR2fun:** …no reason relly

**prettykittyangel:** choji do u kno if shika likes temari?

**BBQ_is_LIFE:** i cant tell u that

**BBQ_is_LIFE:** i g2g ttyl sakura, ino

**prettykittyangel:** k bye choji

**blondesR2fun:** bibi

BBQ_is_LIFE has signed off­.

**prettykittyangel: **wht do u make of that?

**blondesR2fun:** idk sakura…im goin to bed

**blondesR2fun:** ttyt

**prettykittyangel:** l8r

blondesR2fun has signed off.

prettykittyangel has signed off.

Sakura sighed, feeling bad for her friend. She didn't know what to do for her…When she and Sasuke had been having issues there was really nothing that could've been done to make her feel any better. Sasuke just never liked her that way, and Sakura had had to get over it on her own. She wasn't sure if even now she was completely over Sasuke, but the fact of the matter was that their friendship meant too much to her for her to keep forcing her feelings on him. The same had happened with Ino, but she hadn't liked Sasuke anywhere near as much as Sakura did. In fact, Ino had later admitted that half of the reason she liked Sasuke in the first place was because Sakura did. Sakura ran a hand through her short pink hair and sighed. There was nothing for it. Either Shikamaru liked Ino back, or he didn't. Only time would tell, and only time would help heal Ino if he didn't.

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The next morning, Sasuke woke up feeling rather refreshed. He got dressed and ready as usual, and when he went out into the living room Iruka was arguing with Kira over whether or not she should go to school. She insisted that she was fine and that since her fever was gone she should go, but Iruka said that she looked terrible. As Sasuke got closer he realized that Iruka was right; Kira was pale as a ghost and she had dark circles under her eyes. However, she managed to convince Iruka that she was perfectly alright and so she and Sasuke walked to school together. He noticed while they were walking that she had become quite subdued. He glanced over at her to find that she was staring hard at her feet, one hand holding onto her backpack strap and the other clenched in a tight fist at her side. Her jaw was set grimly and she looked more disheveled than usual. He turned his head back forward and asked, "Are you alright?"

Kira started at his question; obviously she had forgotten he was there. She had been so deep in thought that she was completely unaware of her surroundings. She blushed at her distracted state and replied in a murmur, "Oh don't worry, something just came up. Nothing I can't handle."

How very wrong she was.

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**Sorry for the late update dearies, I was very distracted. It's also not all that long, but I hope it satisfies you for now. Love you people!**

**WOW...I was reading this, and I noticed some really stupid errors. I fixed them... I'm a spaz.  
**

**!enigma!**


	9. Reaction

**Complex**

**Multi-chaptered**

**By Understandable Enigma**

**Summary: AU. "Shinobi" is a term used to describe the exceedingly rare, endangered hybrids. The hybrids have been hunted nearly to extinction, so much so that they must hide among humans. They face poachers, enemy shinobi, and more...Pairings: NaruHina NejiTen ShikaTem GaaraOC**

**Well now. I do believe that this is one of my quickest updates ever! So, yeah. Enjoy.**

**Chapter 9: Reaction**

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The cruel yellow eyes surveyed his chessboard, observing the placement of all his pawns. Not an ordinary chess board, all the pieces save two were pawns, and those two were the kings. Each pawn was different, and had taken the semblance of a person. The "black" king was, of course, himself, and one of his pawns in particular was extremely close to the "white" king. He calculated the moves in his head, and it was as good as playing himself, because he knew exactly how the other king would act and react. However, three more moves and it would be over. Three moves were all he needed…he smiled a twisted smile and made each of the moves, until…

"Mate."

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Sasuke and Kira proceeded to walk the rest of the way to school silently. Kira had become withdrawn again, her face pinched with worry and her mind running at a thousand miles a minute. Sasuke had just gotten slightly concerned, but respected his new friend's privacy and didn't pry. However, he wondered what could've come up…she was still sick as well. That morning Anna had had to remind her to take her medicine, and that struck Sasuke as something that Kira wouldn't normally do. She was, in a word, topsy-turvy. Her usually pin-straight hair was falling around her face in impossibly thick waves, and Sasuke noted that it made sense to straighten it—the way her hair looked now gave her a much more natural, wild look. She looked more…Shinobi with her hair like that. She was also wearing wrinkled jeans and an oversized sweatshirt…usually Kira took way more time to make sure she was presentable. Kira liked to look good, and Sasuke knew that. So why was she so uncoordinated today? Because "something came up". But what?

They reached school and joined their friends by the willow tree. It seemed that they weren't the only ones with issues…Neji looked angry and depressed, Hinata wasn't there, Naruto looked stricken, Ino looked devastated, Shikamaru looked uncomfortable and upset, Choji looked guilty, Temari and Kankuro looked worried, and Gaara looked murderous. The rest of their group was trying to go about business as usual or were trying to cheer the rest up, but it wasn't working. Somehow, everything had just become…very difficult, all on the same day. Temari and Kankuro were huddled together, talking in quick, worried whispers, shooting concerned glances at their little brother frequently. Naruto was uncharacteristically quiet, and he kept reading and re-reading the paper in his hands, as if he couldn't understand the words written there. Neji was looking at Naruto's reaction, and then over at Tenten, who was still ignoring him. Ino was sitting on the ground and hugging her knees, and had her face pressed to them, obviously either crying or trying not to. Sakura was hugging her and rubbing comforting circles on her back, and giving Shikamaru a knowing and understanding look, as opposed to a glare, which Shikamaru had obviously expected. He was looking helplessly at the crying blonde, unsure of how to feel. Choji stood at his side, looking guilty for obviously either knowing or saying something he shouldn't have. Kira seemed not to have noticed the trials and tribulations of her newfound friends, and just sat down with her back to the willow, absorbed in her own little world. Sasuke saw all this, and then made a decision.

"I'm calling a Gathering," he said loud enough for everyone present to hear. With his words, everyone fell silent and paid attention. "Tonight, everyone be there, at the normal place and time. Something's not right."

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Kira had been filled in on the information about the Gathering that Sasuke had called. It was something that had been started when the Shinobi of their group were kids, shortly after the war ended and the first of their group had assimilated. It was where they went if things were going wrong and people needed to talk, or if there was something bigger and they needed to make a plan. No one was quite sure why Sasuke had called the Gathering, but the sincerity in his voice when he had suggested that it might be something bigger than usual. Now that she thought about it, something had seemed to be plaguing Sasuke the past couple of days. Well, that night they were going to find out.

However, Kira wasn't able to think about that just now. At the moment, she was sitting in the guidance councilor's office, who was talking about something animatedly to some people behind a door. Next to her Gaara was seated, looking just as dangerous as he had this morning. They were both waiting for the guidance councilor to decide what to say to them. Apparently, it had something to do with the artwork they had submitted in their class today. Kira had been absorbed in her own work, and so had no idea what Gaara's looked like, but she knew that her own had been grounds for sending her here. However, she had an excuse! The teacher had told them to draw what they felt, _exactly what they felt_. How could they blame her if how she felt was…that way? So, based on Gaara's mood, she could tell that he too had probably drawn something disturbing. She honestly didn't care what the teachers and guidance councilors here thought of her, she just didn't want them making a big deal out of it and calling Iruka and trying to find out how she ticks. That wasn't going to happen. No one was allowed to see her thought processes except her…She hated those arrogant pricks who thought that since they had a degree in psychiatry that meant they knew how she felt and thought. Fuck them.

Oh, it seemed that Kira went off on a little rant there. She chanced a look at Gaara, who was just as fuming on the inside. If the sneer on his face was anything to go by, then he was thinking along the same lines as she was. However, they had no more time to think and fume because the psychologist called them into his office. Gaara and Kira both rose from their chairs laboriously, and Gaara allowed Kira to enter the room first. They both took the seats indicated across from the armchair that the school's underpaid and under-qualified psychologist sat in. Also in the room were the school's two guidance councilors and the art teacher. In the psychologist's hands were the two drawings that Gaara and Kira had created. Kira automatically felt loathing towards the psychiatrist for touching her work…his filthy hands should be nowhere near her heart. However, she schooled her face into a mask of passive disinterest. Gaara, on the other hand, let his expressive eyes show just how livid he was, though the rest of his face bore no expression.

"I assume that both of you know why you've been called here," began the idiotic psychologist, his holier-than-thou voice bothering Kira just as much as his stupid white hair. He looked very young to be a psychologist, and his white hair was contradictory to his age. He smiled a disgusting, slimy smile as he tore his eyes from the drawings and looked at both Kira and Gaara in turn. "My name is Kabuto, and as you've probably realized, I'm the school's psychologist. You know, both of you have truly scared your art teacher—she's quite concerned for your well-being. When she told you to express exactly what you felt, she wasn't prepared for the intensity and type of feelings you have shown here. Let's start with yours, Kira dear." Kira wanted to snarl at the term of familiarity and endearment, but kept her face passive. He turned the picture around and Kira saw her heart on the paper. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw that the picture caught Gaara's interest.

It was drawn first in charcoal, and then certain parts were given color from oil pastels. The forest was dead, the trees bare skeletons wracked by orange flames. The wolves were huddled at the edge of the forest, most of them injured and bleeding crimson, and all of them cowering from both the heat on their backs and the monsters to their front. Each one of them seemed different, and each one stood out in its own right. A mob of men had their weapons aimed at the pitiful creatures, but they were fuzzy and indefinite, and only one man stood out. Taller and crueler than the rest, his eyes were an evil yellow, and lying at his feet was a bruised, beaten, and bloodied Kira. With almost no muscle and held down by chains, she was reaching one hand desperately towards the wolves, and was almost unrecognizable as Kira. The only color in the picture was the flames, the blood, and the cruel man's eyes. Red, orange, and yellow, the picture screamed rage, but the blacks and grays of the charcoal wailed of despair, and the chains and weakness of Kira lying at the man's feet spoke of crippling helplessness. But what stood out to Gaara was the fact that the smoke from the fire blocked out the full moon.

The man called Kabuto smiled his slimy smile, and Kira realized it was supposed to be a sweet, comforting smile. However, all his smile really did was make her want to shuck her skin and take a shower. "Now, Kira, dear, what feelings do you have when you look at this picture?" Again, Kira wanted to shiver with disgust at the name, and when she replied, it was bitten off and her rage was barely repressed.

"I am not your _dear_, so please don't assume that I am," she began, "and anyway, I know how it makes me feel, but how does it make _you_ feel? It was made with my feelings, so it doesn't give me any, those feelings were already there. However, I would like to know what _you _get out of it, since you seem to think you know everything about me from one little picture." Kira knew that she shouldn't have lost her temper, but arrogant pricks like this psychologist never failed to bring out the worst in her. She couldn't stand people like that…they made her want to just turn wolf and rip their throats out.

What really pissed her off was that Kabuto had apparently been expecting that sort of response, because he just smiled and looked at her triumphantly. Oh, damn. He was playing her…maybe he wasn't as second-rate as she had thought in the beginning. "Yes, indeed. Well, since you bothered to ask, this picture gives me a sense of helplessness and rage. The colors indicate that your feelings are violent, and the subject matter shows that you feel helpless. However, it seems that you are portraying things backwards."

Kira raised an eyebrow. "Really now? How do you figure that?"

Kabuto smiled again. "You are showing wolves, classically violent and evil creatures, to be the victims, and humans to be the evil, deranged villains. Yet, you also portray yourself as a human. So, we can deduct that there is a degree of self-loathing to the picture. Now, because of this—"

"I'm going to go ahead and stop you right there," said Kira in a bored tone, but honestly she was close to furious. "I obviously overestimated you. Wolves are not classically violent and evil, they are classically misunderstood. Have you ever heard of Romulus and Remus? Yeah, they were raised by wolves, as was Mowgli. The Ancient Greek goddess Artemis? Her patron animal was a wolf, and she was the goddess of the moon, the hunt, but also of childbirth. Wolves have always been misunderstood and persecuted because of it, and my picture depicts exactly that, and your reaction to it proves me right. And, by the way, when you were listing the feelings in the picture, self-loathing is not one of them, but despair is. So please, don't act like you know or care where I'm coming from."

At the end of her speech, Kira saw the briefest flash of anger in Kabuto's eyes at having been told off like that, however it was gone as soon as she registered it, so she may have imagined it. He smiled his sick smile and said, "Well thank you, Kira. I think I have a much better understanding of you now." Kira resisted the urge to roll her eyes. "Well, now we have Gaara. Now, the art teacher says that you have frequently turned in drawings that have been somewhat disturbing. In fact, I have several of them here." Kabuto pulled out a folder, and on the coffee table between his armchair and the chairs where Kira and Gaara sat, he spread them out. Kira leaned forward, gasping. Every one of Gaara's pictures was stunning. She'd known that he was an extremely good artist, but these…they were absolutely amazing. She saw the picture of the girl encased in ice was there, and many of them depicted loneliness, rage, or death. Another one that stood out to Kira was of a dead man half buried in sand, in the middle of a desert, with Gaara walking away in the background. The man looked a lot like Gaara or Kankuro…his father? Each one of the pictures was so vivid, so _real_, that Kira shook her head in amazement. She turned to Gaara and told him, "They're _beautiful_."

Gaara looked genuinely surprised as he blinked and raised an eyebrow. Then he smirked as he caught the looks on the faces of the psycho-cologist and the teacher and the councilors. When Kabuto spoke, Kira and Gaara both wanted to rip his tongue out. "Kira, these pictures are all clearly disturbing, and speak of definite issues going on inside Gaara. Your reaction, too, is concerning. Can you tell me why you used that word, of all the words you could have used?"

Kira laughed at him. She flat-out laughed. "What do you mean? I said they were beautiful because they are. Are you truly that dense? These pictures may not be normal, but they're _real_. They aren't your typical candy-coated portrayals of one's feelings, they show exactly how things are inside Gaara, and that's what makes them special and beautiful. They're _real_. Some of the most famous artwork in the world stems from despair, loneliness, rage, injustice, and pain, simply because those feelings are so strong. These are some of the best artworks I've ever seen." Kira picked up the picture of the girl encased in ice. She looked at it for a moment, then cocked her head to the side and asked, "Me?"

Gaara gave a half-smile. "Your eyes are the color of ice," he began, "and they hold the loneliness of one who has lost dear people because of the war... But of course, who hasn't?" Kira nodded sadly. Gaara looked over to see how she was looking at the picture. She really loved it. "Keep it." Kira looked at Gaara, and she could tell without asking that he was serious. Most of the time with Gaara, words weren't needed, and Kira found that absolutely refreshing. She smiled and thanked him. The art teacher, who had been silent throughout the meeting, whispered something in the psychologist's ear. He looked like he wanted to argue, but before he could the art teacher dismissed them with a smile. As they were walking out the door, the final bell of the day rang and they headed outside together and sat under the willow like always. As they waited for their friends, Gaara and Kira remained in companionable silence. Then, Kira broke it by laughing. When Gaara raised an eyebrow, she just shook her head.

"It's just that when you explained the picture, it's the most I've ever heard you say at once," Kira giggled. Gaara rolled his eyes, but half-smiled at the same time. As their friends approached, they were speechless at the sight. Someone was laughing in Gaara's presence? And Gaara was almost smiling? Obviously, the world had ended and someone forgot to mention it.

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That morning when he had arrived to school, Naruto had planned to confront Neji and ask him what was going on with Hinata and their home situation. However, Hinata had seemed to sense that, and before he even got any words out, Neji had silently held out a hand with a letter in it. It was the stationery that Naruto had gotten her. He ripped it open and read through it quickly. The words hit him like a Mack truck.

"_Dear Naruto,_  
"_I'm really very sorry that I'm too much of a coward to tell you all of this in person. When you started to go out with me, you helped me become stronger and braver, and you gave me courage and tried to help me when no one else cared. I thank you for that. You are a rare and special person, Naruto, and I'm sorry that I'm too weak to remember your teachings. Yes, you were right, something happened with my father, and because of that I'm weak again._  
"_I can't think of any other way to say this, so I guess I'll just put it bluntly; my father is making us move. We're leaving this town, this area, this region, this _country_. My father has decided that I'm actually worth something, and he's moving us to some country I've never even heard of, somewhere in Europe, to send me to some private, prestigious business school so that I'll be able to run his business when he retires. He also wants to check on our European offices, so he's decided that since he and I both need to be there, he's just going to up and move the whole family, including Neji. When Neji said there was no reason for him to go and that he refused to be a "puppet", Father hit him. He's become more violent, because he's discovered that his voice is no longer scary enough to intimidate Neji and I. Neji isn't affected by the screaming or even the hitting all that much, but the first time he hit me…I just went back to the way I was. I'm so sorry, Naruto. By the end of the month, I'll be gone, and I don't know if I'll ever see you again. I wanted to tell you in person, but I realized I would stutter and cry too much. I'm sorry I'm a disappointment to you as well as everyone else._  
"_Goodbye,_  
"_Hinata_"

Naruto couldn't believe his eyes. He'd had no idea that Hiashi was such a scumbag…He wanted to murder the man for having laid a hand on Hinata. The very last line of the letter pulled at his heartstrings so much…For Hinata to have been born as a rabbit Shinobi in a family of hawks, she was already looked down upon as being weak and disgusting. There had been, Naruto had learned, a lot of speculation over whether or not they should just give Hinata to some strong Shinobi of a type that had difficulty procreating, and just let her be a brood wife. Naruto had been disgusted with the idea, and was once more disappointed by how far Shinobi society had fallen.

Amongst Shinobi, your race ran in your family. If your mother and father were both dogs, you'd be a dog. That's the way things were. Before the war, there was quite a bit of discrimination. Oh, you were allowed to be friends with whatever kind of Shinobi you wanted, but it you wanted a mate he or she most definitely needed to be of the same race as you, unless you wanted your family to become very upset with you. A relationship like the one between Naruto and Hinata would never have been allowed…a fox and a rabbit? It was simply absurd. However, since in the war the more dangerous races had been nearly obliterated, the gentler and more prolific races, like rabbits, were being subject to basically being whores for the more powerful species. When two different races bred together, the more dominant race would win out and the offspring would be of that race. However, there were some instances when a recessive race would show up in the offspring…Hinata was a prime example of that. Her great-grandmother had been a rabbit, and she'd had the misfortune of being the chance occurrence of being a dominant recessive. However, that was exceedingly rare, and since the end of the war most of the lower species had been selling their daughters to bear children for the greater species. Because animals like rabbits and squirrels could have children every year, people were doing this in the hopes that they would be able to repopulate the different species of Shinobi so they wouldn't be lost forever. That was what happened to the dragons…every single dragon Shinobi was dead. When this was discovered, every Shinobi had mourned for an entire day. The dragons had been sort of the kings of the Shinobi, and for them to be all dead…it was a tragedy. So, many of the families that sold their daughters and even the daughters themselves thought it an honor to be able to try and prevent such a tragedy from ever occurring again. However, the practice still made Naruto sick.

Naruto had also learned that Hinata had been spared from that life for two reasons; one was that she had the Hyuuga kekkei genkai, and second was that she'd shown herself to be too intelligent and too noble (after she'd been dating Naruto) to be given to such a cause. Kekkei genkai also ran in families…the "bloodline limit" was specific to each family, and while not every family had one, every family wanted one. A bloodline limit, or kekkei genkai, made the one who possessed it infinitely more powerful. Typically, it corresponded to the race of the family. In the Hyuuga family, traditionally made of hawks, the kekkei genkai had to do with extremely acute vision and was called the Byakugan. A bird of prey always needs exceptional vision in order to see its prey on the ground below. Those in a family with a kekkei genkai who could actually use it were rare, and they typically became the head of the family if they had it. This is why Hinata, daughter of the head of the Hyuuga family, would be the next head of the family, even though she wasn't a hawk; she had the kekkei genkai and her little sister didn't. Neji, too, possessed the limit, but he wasn't Hiashi's child, so Hinata was in line before him. Sasuke's family also had a bloodline limit pertaining to the eye, and had to do with the old myth that big cat 's eyes could hypnotize you. Naruto's kekkei genkai, the limit of the Namikaze family, had to do with the control of fire. Naruto's father had been the last king of the Shinobi, a dragon, but his mother had been a somewhat lowly fox, and as such no one really accepted the fact that Naruto was Minato's son. The only thing that suggested he was the king's son was his ability to control fire, which he had only recently discovered.

Naruto clenched his fists around the letter, crumpling it and putting it in his backpack. There was a fire in his blue eyes, and when Neji looked at him to observe his reaction after the blond boy had spent so long in thought, he was surprised at the determination there. Neji shook his head—that was just like Naruto. Determined to make things right, to make things be fair. He would make a good king if the Shinobi society ever recovered. Naruto would make things right within the Hyuuga family.

He swore it.

**..d;;;';gfda;;';gfdaag;trwkuhjl2$#$.;'rtytr';1'.3%rqwrwqefg:"hgf:":fgsj:?eqte,3254^%%$#ku12326#/**

**Yeah, there you have it. Longest chapter ever (actual content wise) and quickest update ever. Feel loved my readers!**

**!enigma!**


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